ISLAMABAD: A senior administration official was injured in a crossfire between warring tribes in the northwestern Pakistani district of Kurram that has been hit by clashes for more than two months, officials said on Friday.
Kurram, a tribal district of around 600,000 where federal and provincial authorities have traditionally exerted limited control, has frequently witnessed violence between its Sunni and Shiite communities over land and power. Travelers to and from the area often ride in convoys escorted by security officials.
Fresh feuding began on Nov. 21 when gunmen ambushed a convoy and killed 52 people, mostly Shiites. The assault triggered road closures and other measures that have disrupted people’s access to medicine, food, fuel, education and work and created a humanitarian crisis in the area, where authorities say at least 150 people have been killed in the two months of feuding.
The latest incident occurred when Additional Assistant Commissioner Sayed Manan was in the field to ensure ceasefire between warring tribes in Bushara area, according to Kurram police spokesman Riaz Khan. Manan was flown to the provincial capital of Peshawar in a helicopter in critical condition after being initially treated at a hospital in Kurram’s Parachinar.
“The additional assistant commissioner underwent surgery at District Headquarter Hospital Parachinar,” Dr. Mir Hassan Jan, the medical superintendent of the hospital, told Arab News. “He was shot in the stomach.”
The additional assistant commissioner was injured in crossfire between the two villages in Bushara area, according to police spokesman Khan. While the gunfire has stopped, authorities are on high alert.
“The situation is completely tense in the area,” he added.
Feuding tribes have been engaged in battles with machine guns and heavy weapons, isolating the remote, mountainous region. The main road connecting Parachinar, the main town in Kurram, to the provincial capital of Peshawar has been blocked since sectarian fighting began in November.
The violence has continued despite a peace agreement signed between the warring tribes on Jan. 1. Under the peace agreement, both sides had agreed on the demolition of bunkers and the handover of heavy weapons to authorities within two weeks, but there has been little to no progress on the terms.
Shiite Muslims dominate parts of Kurram, although they are a minority in the rest of Pakistan, which is majority Sunni. Provincial and federal authorities have been supplying relief goods and evacuating the injured and ailing from Kurram to Peshawar via helicopters since last month.
Muhammad Ali Saif, a KP government spokesman, said on Friday hatred was the root cause of the Kurram issue and lasting peace in the region was not possible without eliminating it.
“All elements challenging the government’s writ will be punished according to the law,” he said, while speaking to a council of tribal and political elders in Kohat that was formed to resolve the Kurram issue.
“The Kohat [peace] agreement will be equally applicable to both parties.”
Senior official injured in crossfire between warring tribes in restive Pakistani district
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Senior official injured in crossfire between warring tribes in restive Pakistani district
- Additional Assistant Commissioner Sayed Manan was in the field to ensure a ceasefire as rival tribes attacked each other in Kurram’s Bushara area
- The official was shot in the stomach and was airlifted to the provincial capital of Peshawar in critical condition, police and health authorities say
Daesh media chief for ISKP in Pakistan’s custody — state media
- Sultan Aziz Azzam, a senior member of ISKP, used to head its Al Azzam media outlet, says state media
- Azzam was arrested in May while attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan, says state media
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have taken into custody Sultan Aziz Azzam, the head of Daesh regional affiliate ISKP’s media outlet, state media reported on Thursday citing intelligence sources.
The state-run Pakistan TV Digital reported that Azzam was a senior member of ISKP and hailed from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. As per the state media report, he is also a graduate of the University of Nangarhar where he studied Islamic jurisprudence.
Pakistan TV Digital reported Azzam joined ISKP in 2016 and later became a prominent member of its leadership council.
“He was arrested in May 2025 while attempting to cross from Afghanistan into Pakistan,” Pakistan TV Digital reported, citing intelligence sources.
“He is believed to have overseen media operations and headed ISKP’s Al Azzam media outlet.”
In November 2021, Washington listed Azzam as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT). The move bars American citizens from engaging in transactions with persons designated as SDGTs.
According to a report on the UN Security Council’s website, Azzam has played an “instrumental role” in spreading Daesh’s violent ideology, glorifying and justifying “terrorist acts.”
“Building on his former experience as an Afghan journalist, his activity as ISIL-K’s spokesperson has increased ISIL-K’s visibility and influence among its followers,” the report states.
The report further states Azzam claimed responsibility on behalf of Daesh for the suicide attack near Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021, which killed at least 170 Afghans and 13 US service members and injured 150 more.
The development takes place amid tense relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad alleging militants use Afghan soil to carry out attacks against Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations.
Tensions surged in October when Pakistan and Afghanistan engaged in fierce border clashes, claiming to have killed dozens of soldiers of the other side.
Pakistan has urged the Afghan Taliban-led government to take “decisive action” against militants it says operate from its soil. Afghanistan says it cannot be held responsible for Pakistan’s security challenges.
