PESHAWAR: Sectarian feuding in northwest Pakistan killed 13 more people, a local government official said Saturday, as warring Sunnis and Shiites defied repeated ceasefire orders in recent conflict claiming 124 lives.
Pakistan is a Sunni-majority country, but Kurram district — in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the border with Afghanistan — has a large Shiite population and the communities have clashed for decades.
Fresh fighting broke out last Thursday when two separate convoys of Shiite Muslims traveling under police escort were ambushed, killing more than 40.
Since then, 10 days of fighting with light and heavy weapons has brought the region to a standstill, with major roads closed and mobile phone services cut as the death toll surged.
A Kurram local government official put the death toll at 124 on Saturday after 13 more people were killed in the past two days.
Two were Sunni and 11 Shiite, he said, whilst more than 50 people have been wounded in fresh fighting which continued Saturday morning.
“There is a severe lack of trust between the two sides, and neither tribe is willing to comply with government orders to cease hostilities,” he told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Police report that many people want to flee the area due to the violence, but the deteriorating security situation makes it impossible,” he added.
A seven-day ceasefire deal was announced by the provincial government last weekend but failed to hold. Another 10-day truce was brokered Wednesday but it also failed to stymie the fighting.
A senior security official in the provincial capital of Peshawar, also speaking anonymously, confirmed the total death toll of 124.
“There is a fear of more fatalities,” he said. “None of the provincial government’s initiated measures have been fully implemented to restore peace.”
Police have regularly struggled to control violence in Kurram, which was part of the semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas until it was merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said 79 people had been killed in the region between July and October in sectarian clashes.
The feuding is generally rekindled by disputes over land in the rugged mountainous region, and fueled by underlying tensions between the communities adhering to different sects of Islam.
13 more killed in Pakistan sectarian fighting
https://arab.news/wdx9g
13 more killed in Pakistan sectarian fighting
- Pakistan is a Sunni-majority country, but Kurram district has a large Shiite population and the communities have clashed for decades
- Fresh fighting broke out last Thursday when two separate convoys of Shiite Muslims traveling under police escort were ambushed
Pakistan engages Saudi Arabia, China in bid to ease surging Middle East tensions
- Pakistan’s foreign minister stresses need for de-escalation in conversations with Chinese, Saudi counterparts
- Tensions in the Middle East continue to remain high as conflict between US, Israel and Iran intensifies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar spoke to the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and China on Tuesday, stressing the importance of diplomatic engagement to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East as the Iran war intensifies.
Pakistan has constantly engaged regional countries in efforts to broker a ceasefire in the Middle East, after the US and Isreal launched coordinated strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.
Iran launched fresh attacks on Gulf countries on Tuesday morning, where it has targeted US military bases in recent weeks. In addition to firing missiles and drones at Israel and American bases in the region, Iran has also been targeting energy infrastructure which, combined with its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, has sent oil prices soaring worldwide.
Dar spoke to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to discuss developments in the Middle East and ongoing deliberations at the UN Security Council, Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement.
“DPM/FM shared Pakistan’s perspective, underscoring the importance of continued coordination and diplomatic engagement to support de-escalation and promote peace and stability across the region and beyond,” the statement said.
Dar, who also serves as Pakistan’s foreign minister, spoke to Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi over the telephone separately. The two discussed the evolving regional situation and broader global developments.
Dar underscored the need to ease tensions in the Middle East and the wider region during the conversation, the foreign office said.
Yi appreciated Pakistan’s constructive efforts aimed at promoting de-escalation and stability in the region, it added.
“The two leaders stressed the importance of de-escalation and emphasized the need to pursue dialogue and diplomacy in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter,” the foreign office’s statement said.
The conflict in the Middle East has hit Pakistan hard as well, forcing Islamabad to hike petrol and diesel prices by Rs55 per liter last Friday.
Pakistan’s government has also announced a set of austerity measures, which include closing schools and cutting down on government expenditures, as it evaluates petrol stocks and looks for alternative supply routes.
