After attack on DC: KP govt halts aid to 'non-cooperating' communities in Kurram

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has temporarily suspended aid to the victims of violence in Kurram after the recent attack on a vehicle that left the deputy commissioner and six others injured.

Sources told Geo News that Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had ordered financial assistance for those affected by the violence in the restive Kurram tribal district.

Following his instructions, a 90 percent survey of damaged homes and shops in Bagan was completed to ensure compensation for the affected people. But the government took strong notice of the armed attack on the official vehicle on Saturday in Kurram. In a meeting in Kohat on Sunday, the government demanded the tribal elders to hand over the perpetrators of the attack that occurred a day earlier.

When contacted, Adviser to the Chief Minister on Information, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, confirmed the development to Geo News but stated that financial aid would be halted for communities found not cooperating with the government.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Commissioner of Kurram, Javedullah Mehsud, underwent successful surgery at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Peshawar. Doctors at CMH repaired the fractured thigh bone of the official, who had sustained three bullet injuries. One bullet hit his shoulder, another his abdomen, and the third his leg.

Javedullah Mehsud had met with jirga members the night before the convoy’s departure, and a decision was made, with their consent, to move the convoy at midnight. He later went to negotiate with two dissenting tribal elders to get the road reopened, sources said.

While traveling from Sadda to Chappari, Javedullah Mehsud’s vehicle was fired upon at Bagan Chowk. The driver tried to turn the vehicle back, during which the official was hit by bullets. He was airlifted to Peshawar for treatment.