Kurram’s death toll rises as six more are killed in tribal clashes

Another six people were killed while eight others were injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Kurram district, police said on Sunday, as tribal clashes entered an eleventh straight day of violence.

According to police, the number of fatalities due to recent violent events has risen to 130 and 186 people have been injured so far.

The ongoing violence in the tribal town has led to the closure of the Peshawar-Parachinar main road for travellers. While commuting at the Pakistan-Afghanistan Kharlachi border has also been suspended.

The closure of arteries has led to shortages of oil, food products and medicines in the region.

The Kurram region is also facing a communications blackout, with mobile and internet services suspended and educational institutions closed.

Police and other security force personnel had been deployed in various parts of Lower Kurram, Deputy Commissioner Javed Ullah Mehsud said, adding that all efforts would be made for ceasefire in other areas today as well.

“We are hopeful of progress on a ceasefire and the reopening of transport routes,” he said.

The situation has remained tense since November 21 and violence continues despite a recent ceasefire agreement.

A 10-day ceasefire was brokered last week, but intermittent violence has made it ineffective.

The recent clashes began 11 days ago with ambushes on two separate police-escorted convoys, leaving 52 dead on the first day. Since then, violence between the warring sides has escalated, with police struggling to maintain control.

Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission recorded 79 deaths in the region between July and October this year, highlighting continued instability.

Previous attempts at peace, including a seven-day truce brokered by provincial officials in November, have failed to hold.

A powerful delegation, including KP Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry and IGP Akhtar Hayat Gandapur, had also negotiated a ceasefire last weekend, but violence resumed soon after.