PARACHINAR/HANGU/PESHAWAR: Over 70 vehicles loaded with food items, medicines, and other daily necessities reached Parachinar town on Friday.
It brought relief to residents who had been facing severe hardships due to the four-month-long blockade of roads.Regional Police Officer, Kohat Range, Abbas Majeed Marwat, said that another convoy of over 70 vehicles reached Kurram smoothly. He said police and district administration arranged security for the vehicles in the convoy.
Prices started to decline after the arrival of the second convoy from Thall in Hangu that carried vegetables, fruits, sugar, cooking oil, and other essentials. However, residents complained that the supply of petrol and diesel remained unavailable.
This shortage has left people stranded in their areas and has created problems, especially in transporting patients to hospitals.According to a social activist, Mir Afzal Khan, dozens of patients lost their lives due to the lack of medical access. He added that oil tankers had not been brought in despite the peace agreement, forcing people to rely on walking for transportation.
Assistant Commissioner Afrasiab Zubair Hindal said steps were being taken to implement all clauses of the peace agreement, including reopening the roads. He added that the Local Councils Association of Sindh would donate another Rs 10 million in the coming days.
Meanwhile, GOC Major-General Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti, accompanied by Kohat Division Commissioner Muatasim Billah Shah, visited Lower Kurram’s Bagan area to meet with the victims. During the visit, compensation cheques were distributed among the injured and the families of the deceased.
The GOC of 9 Division inspected the affected areas and various checkpoints in Bagan. He reviewed the arrangements put in place.
Kurram Deputy Commissioner Ashfaq Ahmed, District Police Officer Ahmed Shah, other district administration officials, and local elders were present as well.The Kohat commissioner distributed compensation cheques to the families of 23 individuals who lost their lives and nine injured in various acts of terrorism.
During the visit, the delegation toured the affected areas of Bagan, met with the victims and elders of Lower Kurram, and discussed regional issues.Earlier in the day, students in Parachinar and over 100 surrounding villages expressed grave concern over the ongoing road blockades, stating that the closures are jeopardizing their academic futures.
Addressing a joint press conference, student leaders, including United Students Council president Tasawar Hussain, general secretary Sajid Hussain, Ghayyur Hussain, Tahir Hussain, and others, said their admissions to national and international educational institutions were at risk of cancellation due to their inability to reach campuses on time.
The students said they had been waiting for the reopening of roads for the past four months.Hundreds of students from Parachinar town and upper and lower Kurram villages have secured admissions, but they were stranded due to the blockade, facing the possibility of losing an entire academic year. The student leaders demanded immediate action, urging authorities to either reopen the routes or arrange transportation to Peshawar within 24 hours.
They warned that failure to address their plight would leave them no choice but to initiate protests.Also, the chairman district council Sukkur Syed Kamal Shah handed over Rs10 million in aid to KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi for the affected people of the Kurram district.