Five dead and fifteen injured in ongoing Kurram conflict

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Five individuals killed with 15 others injured in the ongoing clash between rival tribes in various regions of Kurram district, ANI reported.

According to ANI, the clash that started last week has entered its eighth day with reportedly 46 killed and 96 injured, said a hospital official.

The conflict started when the Boshehra tribes in upper Kurram started constructing bunkers on the land which belonged to Ahmadzai tribes, which rapidly expanded the dispute to other areas.

On Wednesday, ANI sources stated that at around ten more people were killed or injured in Balishkhel, Sadda, Khar Kallay, Peewar, Maqbal, and other areas, pointing out that the main Parachinar Highway and other routes were closed down due to traffic disruptions.

Qaiser Abbas Banghash, Medical Superintendent at Kurram District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ), confirmed to ANI the updated death toll on September 27.

As per ANI, former federal minister Sajid Toori admitted that armed conflicts had seriously disrupted daily life, but voiced optimism that normalcy would return soon, asking people to resolve their differences peacefully.

In a separate event, Majlis Wahdat Muslimeen (MWM) parliamentary leader Engineer Hameed Hussain held a protest outside the Parachinar Press Club, referring to the failure of responsible institutions to establish peace.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur claimed a day earlier that significant efforts were in process to maintain law and order in the province, especially in the southern districts.

"After the improvement of the law and order situation in southern districts, more checkposts will be handed over to the police. However, before that happens, there is a need for enhancing the capabilities of police," CM Gandapur said in a statement issued from the chief minister's secretariat on Thursday, ANI reported.

The chief minister also mentioned that the ongoing clashes in Kurram tribal district involved specific groups and that measures are being taken by the provincial government to resolve the situation peacefully.

He claimed that the provincial government was aiming for a permanent resolution to the issue.

Gandapur mentioned that dialogues were also ongoing to address the conflict in tribal district Khyber and that a resolution was hoped by Friday.

He added that people living in the Mir Ali area would receive compensation and the cattle market would be restored to the locals following reconstruction, stating that the relief department had issued necessary directives in this regard, ANI reported.