30 killed, 20 injured in tribal clashes in Kurram with KP

On Saturday, police said at least 12 people were killed in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 30 in ongoing violent clashes between tribal groups in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa city.

Fierce clashes between rival tribes took place in the densely populated Bagan and Alizai areas of Lower Kurram. During the brutal attacks, 20 people were injured.

The new violence came two days after gunmen opened fire on two separate convoys traveling under police escort in Kurram, killing 45 people.

According to police, at least 75 people have been killed in shootings between different tribes in the last three days.

According to reports, after the new clashes, about 300 families left their homes and moved to safe places.

“Since this morning, around 300 families have moved to Hangu and Peshawar in search of safety,” a senior official told AFP, adding that more families were preparing to leave the violence-hit district.

It is worth mentioning here that tribal and family feuds are common in this area.

At least 16 people, including three women and two children, were killed in clashes in Kurram last month.

Previous clashes in July and September killed dozens and ended only after a ceasefire by a jirga, or tribal council. The HRCP reported that 79 people were killed in clashes between July and October.

On Friday, several hundred people demonstrated against violence in Lahore and Karachi.

In Parachinar, the main town of Kurram district, thousands took part in sit-in protests and hundreds attended funerals of victims of Thursday’s attack.

The recent violence has drawn condemnation from officials and human rights groups.

The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) this month called on authorities to pay “urgent attention” to the “alarming frequency of clashes” in the region, warning that the situation had escalated to a “humanitarian crisis proportionate.”

“All available options will be utilized for peace”: CM Gandapur

Prime Minister KP Ali Amin Gandapur has promised to use all available options to restore peace in the valance-affected Kurram district.

He made these remarks while chairing a meeting to discuss the situation in Kurram via video link. The Prime Minister said the incident of armed attack on vehicles was “extremely regrettable and condemnable”. The CM shared the sadness of the bereaved families.

During the meeting, the government delegation, which visited the tribal elders that day, presented its preliminary report to the CM.

“The legitimate demands of the parties must be met,” the Prime Minister said, adding that a ceasefire was inevitable to resolve the conflict.

He urged the tribal elders to cooperate with the government delegation and the local administration. The Prime Minister said that he was monitoring the situation in the region himself. The government made efforts to resolve the conflict.