Peshawar: At least 50 people have been killed and 120 others injured in clashes between two warring tribes over a piece of land during the last eight days in Pakistan’s restive northwestern Kurram district, bordering Afghanistan, police said Saturday.
According to police, the clashes started over a land dispute in the Upper Kurram area of Boshehra, leading to gunfire and triggering clashes.
A temporary ceasefire was implemented in the violence-hit areas on Saturday with the cooperation of tribal elders, Kurram Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mehsud said.
The situation in the Kurram district has now come under control. Clashes have ceased in all areas of the district, including Piwar, Tari Mangal, Kunj Alizai, Muqbil, and Para Chamkani Karman, Mehsud said, adding that security forces have been deployed in the areas.
As many as 50 people were killed and 120 others injured in the eight-day clashes, he said.
According to police, heavy and automatic weapons were used in the clashes. The intensity of the fighting had led to the closure of the Parachinar-Peshawar main road and the Pak-Afghan Kharlachi border, disrupting transportation and movement. The road blockade has caused a shortage of essential items, including food, fuel, and medicines, worsening the situation for residents.
The fighting had spread to areas such as Balishkhel, Sadda, Khar Kallay, Peewar and Maqbal in the district, which borders Afghanistan’s Khost, Paktia, Logar and Nangarhar provinces, which are considered strongholds of the ISIS and the Pakistan Taliban.
Tribal leaders from the Turi tribe, Jalal Hussain and Syed Tajammul Hussain, and leaders from the Bangash tribe, Malik Fakhar Zaman and Haji Saleem Khan, have emphasised the importance of public participation in maintaining peace in the area.
National Assembly member Hamid Hussain has urged the people of the district to maintain peace and pave the way for the area’s development, stating that conflicts lead only to destruction.
In July, at least 50 people were killed and more than 225 injured in week-long clashes between Boshehra and Maleekhel tribes in the same region.
Kurram, a mountainous area in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that shares a long border with Afghanistan, has witnessed deadly conflicts among tribes and religious groups as well as sectarian clashes and militant attacks in the past.
The fighting in July turned into sectarian skirmishes and spread to other areas, including Peewar, Tangi, Balishkhel, Khaar Kalay, Maqbal, Kunj Alizai, Para Chamkani, and Karman. It stopped after the two sides agreed on a peace agreement brokered by Jirga (tribal council) leaders.
PTI