Violence rages in Pakistan's Kurram; 107 dead in a week despite ceasefire

At least 107 people have been killed in a feud between communities in the Kurram district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including 52 due to the attack on a convoy on November 21

Tribal clashes in the Kurram district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province continued for the eighth consecutive day on Thursday, pushing the death toll from the recent cycle of violence to 107, despite a ceasefire agreement reportedly reached a day earlier, Pakistani publication The Nation reported on Friday.

 

Citing local police sources, the report said that five more people were killed and nine others injured in fresh violence in the district, long prone to violence due to its sectarian divides and tribal disputes. The development reportedly came just a day after the district's feuding tribes agreed to a new 10-day ceasefire.

 

According to the report, at least 107 people have been killed in a feud between communities in the district, including 52 due to the attack on a convoy on November 21. The local police have informed the Pakistani publication that since then, more recent clashes have claimed 55 lives and left 140 others wounded. 

 

Calculations based on various Pakistani media reports show that the recent cycle of violence, which began with last week's gun attack on the passenger van convoy in the Mandori Charkhel area, has pushed the total civilian casualties in the volatile region over the past few months to over 180.

 

During the November 21 attack, a convoy comprising approximately 200 vehicles travelling from Parachinar to Peshawar came under heavy fire. The convoy reportedly consisted mostly of members of the Shia community.

 

Citing local sources, a report by Pakistani publication Dawn had said that the attack was itself in retaliation for an October 12 assault that had left 15 people dead, including two women and a child. 

 

At the time, even as no group had claimed responsibility in the immediate aftermath of the attack, there had been speculation about the involvement of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has been active in the region.

 

The Pakistani government, however, had attributed the incident to an ongoing land dispute, ruling out sectarian motives.

 

Why is Kurram on the boil?

 

Kurram's close geographic proximity to Afghanistan, coupled with the presence of militant groups and a history of communal tensions, has rendered the region particularly volatile, according to a report by Dawn.

 

Sectarian violence, predominantly between Shia and Sunni communities, has further exacerbated the instability. A land dispute between two tribes reportedly led to over 80 deaths between November and July, with many victims being travellers attacked on the roads.

 

A Dawn report from last week noted that, despite appointing a land commission to address these disputes, the Pakistani government had yet to release its findings, citing sensitivities.