More than 65 dead since Thursday due to clashes and attacks between Sunni and Shia tribes
MADRID, 24 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Pakistani Government has begun this Sunday an initiative to stop the sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite tribes that has been devouring the municipality of Kurram, in the northwest of the country, since the attack last Thursday that claimed the lives of more than 40 people and , since then, has left almost another thirty more dead.
The immediate precedent for what is happening in Kurram dates back to last September, when clashes between both tribes over a land dispute left more than 50 dead and 120 injured in eight days and forced the closure of the Parachinar-Peshawar highway. , on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Although the Government promised to guarantee the security of inter-border roads, absolutely essential for the movement of food, fuel and medicine, Thursday’s attack that left at least 42 dead triggered an explosion of violence that has continued until this past Saturday.
Last night, according to local officials also on condition of anonymity, the town of Bagan was the epicenter of a wave of unrest that began when “more than 5,000 armed people invaded the place and began attacking local markets and businesses” to “avenge those killed in Thursday’s attack. The authorities estimate more than 25 deaths in these incidents, according to the Pakistani newspaper ‘Dawn’.
To try to resolve the situation, a delegation of senior officials from the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhua, where Kurram is located and one of the most conflictive areas in general in all of Pakistan, will undertake a series of meetings over the next few days with notables from both tribes. . The group will be headed by provincial chief secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry and state inspector general of police Ajtar Hayat Gandapur.
In exchange for financial compensation for survivors of the violence, the delegation will ask notables to declare a one-week ceasefire to try to reach an amicable solution.
The chief minister of the province, Ali Amin Gandipur, considers the ceasefire an essential necessity to chart the next steps to safety. “From there, the Government will formulate a new strategy following the recommendations of local notables.”
However, violence still persists despite the authorities’ efforts. In the last few hours, gun battles have been reported, according to the newspaper ‘The News’, in the towns of Balishjel, Jar Kali, Kunj Alizai and Maqbal. The Thall-Sada-Parachinar highway remains closed and traffic to Kohat district, one of the commercial hubs of the region, remains closed.