A day after 44 people were killed in firing on a convoy in Ochat area of Lower Kurram, at least 18 others have died with 30 injured in overnight clashes in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The incident on Thursday occurred when heavily armed militants targeted a 200-vehicle convoy, which was en route under escort from Parachinar to Peshawar. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

 

Meanwhile, Kurram Deputy Commissioner (DC) Javedullah Mehsud said efforts were being made to re-establish peace in the area, reiterating yesterday’s statement. DC Mehsud and Sajid Hussain Turi, a former PPP MNA from Kurram, confirmed that a high-level meeting was underway in the district for peace efforts.

Turi, one of the meeting’s participants, said KP Inspector General (IG) Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur, Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry and government spokesperson Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif were also attending the meeting.

He lamented that the security provided to the convoy that was attacked was less than the required amount.

DC Mehsud said officials of security forces and local administration were attending the meeting convened at the DC Conference Hall.

“With the help of local elders, forces and the administration, peace will be established as soon as possible,” the official said. According to reports, the two tribes involved in the dispute are Alizai and Bagan.

Sajid Kazmi, a leader of Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), demanded the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate the attack.

Speculation also surrounds the involvement of the banned terrorist group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has recently been active in Lower Kurram, prompting fears among the residents.

 

But government officials attributed the incident to the ongoing land dispute, ruling out sectarian motives.
Businesses, educational institutions and markets remained closed across Parachinar and surrounding areas on Friday.

An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that mobile signals across the Kurram district had been shut down, describing the situation as “extremely tense”.

The official also said a curfew had been “imposed on the main road connecting Upper and Lower Kurram”.

Thousands of people participated in a sit-in in Parachinar, where protesters criticised the government’s failure to protect civilians. Hundreds also demonstrated in Lahore and Karachi, demanding that the violence be stopped for once and for all.

Previous clashes in July and September of this year had claimed dozens of lives and were resolved only after ceasefires were brokered.