Death toll reaches 44 as Kurram attack victims laid to rest

PARACHINAR/PESHAWAR: The death toll from the tragic terrorist attack on passenger vehicles in Lower Kurram reached 44 on Friday as the victims were laid to rest in their respective graveyards amidst mounting tension in the volatile region.

Among the dead, eight were women, five children and a local journalist.

According to the local administration, over 30 persons had been injured, nine of them seriously.

Journalist Janan Hussain also died in the attack. He had returned from Malaysia and was travelling to his hometown in Parachinar with the convoy.

Janan Hussain was associated with a private television channel and was also running a philanthropic organisation which was helping widows and orphans. The attack on passenger vehicles took place in Bagan and Ochat areas of Lower Kurram tribal district as the convoys traveling between Peshawar and Parachinar were targeted by the terrorists, opening indiscriminate fire and martyring innocent people.

The bodies of the martyrs were transported to Parachinar and laid to rest in their ancestral cemeteries, where heart-wrenching scenes were witnessed during the burial.

To mourn the tragedy, all markets and educational institutions in Parachinar and its surrounding areas were shut. Residents staged protests, blocking the main highway by setting tires on fire.

Some of the protesters torched the main security checkpoint in Parachinar, the administrative headquarters of Kurram tribal district.

The Turi Bangash tribal elders, Jalal Bangash and Tajamul Hussain, voiced frustration over the government’s failure to ensure safe passage on the region’s main routes.

For over a month, they said, they had been demanding the government to secure these routes for travelers. A peace march involving over 100,000 people was held two weeks ago, with participants urging the government to open and protect the main highway. Despite the government’s assurances for secure convoys, the attack, which spared no one – not even women and children – has caused intense anger and grief to the community.

Local authorities condemned the attack, pledging to bring the perpetrators to justice. Security forces launched investigations, while the government is under increasing pressure to take immediate action to ensure the safety of the residents.

Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mahsud told The News that the administration worked closely with the community in evacuating the injured people to hospitals in ambulances and shifting the bodies to their respective places.

“I along with the district police officer and other officials immediately rushed to the site of the incident and played a leading role in the rescue operation and saved many precious lives by shifting them to the hospitals in time,” the deputy commissioner said. Javedullah Mahsud said the convoys were travelling in police escort but the gunmen first targeted the police and then the passengers.

“We are closely working with the community leaders and trying to normalise the situation,” he said. Also, protest rallies were staged in a number of cities in the province to condemn the incident. In Kohat, angry protesters torched a number of vehicles. The protesters blocked the Kohat-Hangu Road, demanding arrest of those involved in the attack.

AFP adds: A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Friday that mobile signal across the district had been shut down, describing the situation as “extremely tense” with locals staging a sit-in in Parachinar.

“A curfew has been imposed on the main road connecting Upper and Lower Kurram, and the bazaar remains completely closed, with all traffic suspended,” the official said.

Mahsud said that a local jirga, or tribal council, has been convened to help restore peace and order.

Previous clashes in July and September killed dozens of people and ended only after a jirga called a ceasefire.

The latest violence drew condemnation from Pakistani officials and human rights groups.

“The frequency of such incidents confirms the failure of the federal and provincial governments to protect the security of ordinary citizens,” the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said in a statement.

“We demand immediate and decisive steps from both governments to permanently break this cycle of violence,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, Shia Ulema Council (SUC) Malakwal staged a protest rally on Friday against the deadly terrorist attack in Parachinar, which unfortunately claimed dozens of lives.

The protest rally was taken out from Imambargah Bab Al-Umran, led by Maulana Amanat Ali and other Shia Ulema. The protesters raised slogans against the Parachinar incident.

Addressing the protesters, the Ulema condemned the incident, accusing the rulers of prioritising their own power over the safety of the people. They criticised the impunity with which terrorist elements operate, targeting innocent civilians. The SUC called the Parachinar tragedy a wake-up call and demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of those responsible.