Bunkers demolished in Lower Kurram

PARACHINAR: In the aftermath of a peace agreement in Kurram district, the local administration and security forces on Monday started demolishing bunkers in Lower Kurram.

According to district administration officials, joint operations involving police, security forces, and local authorities were carried out in the Khar Killay and Balishkhel areas of Lower Kurram.

The bunkers were demolished using explosives, with aerial support provided by gunship helicopters. These actions were taken in line with clause 12 of the 14-point peace agreement reached in Kohat, which mandated the removal of bunkers.

Meanwhile, residents of Parachinar asked the government to reopen transportation routes immediately. They said the continued road closure had created a shortage of essentials and medicines.

Social activist Mir Afzal Khan said that two weeks had passed since the peace agreement was signed, but the main highway remained closed, adding that this had compounded the problems of the residents of Upper Kurram.

He urged the government to take steps to reopen the roads to facilitate the local people. Another tribal elder Jalal Bangash asked the government to implement all provisions of the peace agreement, which included steps to reopen roads and ensure safe passage for residents.

Meanwhile, doctors serving at the District Headquarters Hospital in Parachinar told a press conference that there was an acute shortage of medicines at the hospital. The members of the Young Doctors Association, including Dr Zulfiqar Ali, Dr Qaiser, Dr Shehzad, Dr Rafiq, Dr Maqdad, Dr Iqbal and Dr Yawar Abbas said that the critically ill patients could not be taken to hospitals in Peshawar due to the closure of the roads.

“We have no medicines and cannot refer patients to Peshawar due to the road blockades,” Dr Zulfiqar said. Doctors said that essential medical supplies had run out and private hospitals in the area had been closed.

The doctors appealed to UNICEF, the World Health Organization and other national and international organizations to urgently intervene. They called for immediate action to open roads and restore the supply of food and medicines to the region.