- Barrister Saif says both groups also decided to return each other’s bodies and prisoners
PESHAWAR/KURRAM: Efforts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s formed team to ease tensions in Kurram District bore fruit on Sunday, and the warring tribes have agreed to a seven-day ceasefire in the region.
In a statement, Advisor to KP Chief Minister on Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif confirmed the development, saying that a ceasefire was agreed upon for seven days between the tribes, both of which also decided to return each other’s bodies and prisoners.
The ceasefire comes after the KP government decided to constitute a high-powered commission to settle land disputes between the tribes in Kurram district as the death toll from recent violence reached 64.
A government delegation met the members of the Shia tribe yesterday before meeting the Sunni tribe leaders today, after which it returned to Peshawar, Barrister Saif said.
It further said, “The provincial government’s delegation comprising Provincial Law Minister Aftab Alam, Adviser to the Chief Minister on Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, Inspector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Khan, former MNA Sajid Turi, and Commissioner Kohat Division, Mutasim Billah Shah, met with the affectees in Parachinar”.
Separately, while speaking to Reuters, Barrister Saif said that there were “positive developments in engagements with stakeholders”.
The tribal sectarian tension flared up on Wednesday following an attack on a convoy of over 200 passenger vehicles in Lower Kurram, which had left 45 dead, including women and children.
Meanwhile, clashes between two groups on Sunday claimed at least 12 more lost live in Kurram bringing the death toll to 30 since eysterday.
According to police reports, the clashes occurred in the villages of Kalu Kunj, Badshah Kot, and Bagan Bazar in Lower Kurram, where armed individuals set fire to dozens of shops and houses, leaving many innocent women, children, and elderly people dead.
The police have confirmed that the death toll has risen to 30 in the past 24 hours, with many more injured.
The violence followed Thursday’s deadly attack, when a convoy of around 200 vehicles came under heavy gunfire in Kurram’s densely populated Bagan town, killing at least 43 people.
The incident occurred in Lower Kurram where vehicles coming to and from Peshawar and Kurram came under fire resulting in the death of 38 on the spot and several injured in critical condition initially.
The spokesperson to DPO Kurram stated that the Deputy Commissioner and DPO have reached the spot of incident, while the SHO Yar Muhammad said the injured were rushed to a nearby hospital.
Bilawal expresses concern over Kurram situation
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday expressed his deep concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in Kurram district, emphasizing that the “safety and security of citizens be ensured immediately”.
According to a statement issued here, the PPP chairman also sought a detailed report from KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on the situation in Kurram.
“My heart is bleeding for the victims, and we cannot stand to see Khyber Pakhtunkhwa burn in the flames of lawlessness,” Bilawal said, pledging his part would play its role in ensuring peace and order not just in Kurram but across KP.
“On one hand, the Kurram district is burning in the fire of unrest, and on the other, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is absent from the scene,” the statement quoted Bilawal as saying.
The PPP chief asserted that maintaining law and order was the primary responsibility of the provincial government, but the “PTI-led provincial government has failed to protect the lives and property of the citizens”.
“The KP government’s silence during this turmoil is tantamount to being an ally of the terrorists,” he claimed. “We condemn the criminal negligence of the PTI government in Kurram,” Bilawal said.
