PESHAWAR: At least 38 people were killed and several others wounded on Thursday when a convoy carrying civilians in the conflict-hit northwestern Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) was attacked by unknown assailants, the district administration confirmed.
Kurram, a former semi-autonomous tribal area bordering Afghanistan, has a long history of violent conflicts that have claimed hundreds of lives over the years. A major conflict in the district, triggered in 2007, lasted for years before being resolved by a jirga, a council of tribal elders, in 2011.
More recently, clashes erupted over a property dispute in July, leaving the region in a state of tension. The ongoing unrest has intermittently claimed over 50 lives and injured more than 150 people. Authorities had earlier shut down roads leading to the area for all traffic during the conflict, later providing security for convoys to ensure safer travel.
“We are in touch with KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and the province’s inspector general police due to the incidents taking place there since they need our help,” Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said during a media interaction in Islamabad, as he referred to rising instances of militancy in KP. “Thirty-eight people have been killed in Kurram today.”
Prior to Naqvi’s statement, Kurram Deputy Commissioner Javid Ullah Mehsud told Arab News over the phone the convoy of commuters was traveling from Peshawar to Parachinar in Upper Kurram when it came under attack in the Uchat Kali area of Lower Kurram.
“Thirty-two people have been killed and several others injured. We are gathering further information,” he said, adding that a rescue operation was underway.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also took notice of the development, condemned the incident and describing the attack on civilians as an act of “barbarity.”
“Enemies of the country’s peace attacked a convoy of innocent civilians, which is tantamount to animalistic behavior,” he said in a statement. “We will thwart the evil attempts by anti-state elements to destroy the peace of our country.”
The prime minister directed the authorities to identify the perpetrators of the attack and ensure they were brought to justice.
“The miscreants involved in the incident must be given exemplary punishment,” he said.
Local elders, law enforcement agencies and health officials contributed to the rescue efforts soon after the attack on the convoy.
“The locals helped in the rescue operation,” Islam Gul Orakzai, a local youth representative, told Arab News. “We played our role to ensure respect for the dead and assist in the recovery efforts.”
Orakzai said the entire region was in mourning after the tragic incident.
“We want peace in our region,” he continued, emphasizing the toll the ongoing law and order situation has taken on the local population.