PESHAWAR: At least 63 people have been killed and over 150 injured in the past three days in the northwestern Pakistani district of Kurram, as the seven-day ceasefire announced by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government failed to hold, and clashes between warring tribes continued.
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, or a council of tribal elders, in 2011.
The recent violence in the restive district erupted earlier this month when gunmen attacked a convoy carrying members of the minority Shiite community in the Uchat area of Lower Kurram, killing 41 people.
According to medical officials in the region, 63 bodies have been brought to two different medical facilities since the KP authorities said they had brokered the seven-day ceasefire.
“A total of 47 dead bodies and 132 injured people were brought to the hospital in the past three days,” a medical officer at the District Headquarters Hospital, who requested anonymity since he is not authorized to speak to the media, told Arab News on Wednesday.
Aziz-ur-Rehman, another doctor at BHU Mandori, also shared casualty figures over the phone.
“Sixteen dead bodies and 44 wounded individuals were brought to BHU Mandori during the recent clashes,” he said.
The KP administration announced the ceasefire on November 24, but Kurram continued to witness sporadic clashes.
According to Irfan Khan, a resident of the area, the situation remains “tense” in the district.
“The attacks intensify at night and relax during the day,” he told Arab News. “There is fear and tension all around as anything can happen at any time.”
