Kurram clashes death toll rises to 88

PARACHINAR: The death toll in the ongoing clashes in Kurram has risen to 88 with 111 others injured as skirmishes continued on Monday between rival tribes in Bagan village and Alizai area in the district.

On Sunday, the provincial government claimed that it had effected ceasefire for a seven-day and the combatants in Kurram had agreed to exchange the prisoners and return the bodies. The government had sent a delegation to Kurram to bring an end to the fighting.

Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, Adviser to Chief Minister on Information and Public Relations, had told reporters that the delegation would again visit Kurram in the next few days to pursue the peace process and restore order.

According to police and hospital sources, intense gunfire and violence persisted over the past four days, leading to further casualties. In the latest incidents, two more people lost their lives, and 19 others sustained injuries.

An injured passenger, Mushtaq Hussain, succumbed to injuries. He had been injured in the attack on a convoy of vehicles in the Mandori Uch area in Lower Kurram on November 21. This attack has claimed 50 lives so far.

The violence has disrupted daily life as the main Peshawar-Parachinar Road has remained closed to traffic. Internet and mobile services in the district are also suspended in the area. The unrest has forced the closure of all educational institutions in the district and has created a fuel shortage.

The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Kohat has postponed the FA and FSc annual examinations in Kurram. In response to the ongoing situation, a delegation from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government, including Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, who is Adviser to Chief Minister in Information, Provincial Minister for Law Aftab Alam, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam, Inspector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Gandapur, and the commissioner Kohat visited the affected areas recently.

The delegation engaged with tribal elders from both sides, who demanded the reopening of the main road and assurances of safe passage for residents. Efforts are underway to mediate between the tribes and restore normalcy, but tensions remain high in the district.