The death toll from ongoing sectarian and tribal violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district has reached 88 as of Monday, following a ceasefire agreement announced a day earlier, as per media reports.
The violence began on Thursday when a convoy of about 200 vehicles was sprayed with bullets in Kurram’s Bagan town, killing at least 43 people on the day including women and children. Most of the victims are Shia Muslim.
To address the tense situation, government officials visited Kurram on Saturday. Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, the information adviser to the KP chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, confirmed that a ceasefire had been agreed upon for seven days between the clashing Sunni and Shia tribes, who have also decided to return the bodies and prisoners taken during the clashes.
Saif also announced the formation of a commission to resolve ongoing land disputes between the tribes. However, despite the ceasefire announcement, reports indicate that fighting between the Alizai and Bagan tribes, as well as between the Baleechkhel and Kharkalay tribes in Lower Kurram, has continued unabated.
As a result of the violence, mobile and internet services were suspended, and all travel routes in the area were closed. The Education Union President, Muhammad Hayat Khan, told the media that exams scheduled for Monday were postponed indefinitely, and all schools and educational institutions in the district were closed.
In a statement, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) raising concern over involvement of trained, armed fighters participating in clashes, "The fact that local rival groups clearly have access to heavy weaponry indicates that the state has been unable to control the flow of arms into this region." In July and September this year, at least 71 people were reported killed in the district. The Commission further stated that people of Kurram have been slapped with trauma and violence due to year-long infighting between warring tribes.
Kurram, which borders Afghanistan, has long experienced sectarian tensions, often fuelled by land ownership disputes. A government-appointed commission had previously investigated land issues in the region, but its findings were never made public due to sensitivities surrounding the conflict.