Assistant Commissioner (Revenue) Saeed Manan Khan was reportedly injured in a firing incident in the volatile Upper Kurram tehsil on Friday.

 

Dawn quotes sources at Parachinar District Headquarters Hospital saying, “The Kurram AC was visiting the Boshehra area for [implementing] the ceasefire and was accompanied by police.”

 

Reports suggest the firing incident occurred in the Boshehra area of Upper Kurram.

 

Shafique Hussain, one of the tribal leaders, was also quoted as saying that he was accompanying AC Manan and that they were “busy in implementing the ceasefire” when the incident occurred.

 

After getting shot in the stomach, the injured assistant commissioner was taken to the DHQ hospital and underwent an operation.

 

Along with AC Manan, three more individuals were injured in the firing.

 

The AC Revenue Department was later airlifted to the provincial capital, Peshawar, via helicopter following his operation.

 

Background

The current wave of clashes in Kurram started after an attack on a convoy in Lower Kurram’s Bagan area, killing over 40 people in November. At least 130 lives have been lost since then.

 

The security situation led to the closure of a main road for weeks, resulting in a massive shortage of essential goods and medicines in the Parachinar region.

 

Although a ceasefire deal was signed between warring tribes on January 1, attacks on an aid convoy this month put peace efforts on hold.

 

A convoy on January 4 was attacked near the same Bagan area, injuring former DC Javedullah Mehsud and leaving the aid mission stranded.

 

Then, on January 16, an attack on a convoy in Lower Kurram’s Bagan area killed two security officials and injured five.

 

A retaliatory attack by local security forces left six attackers dead and 10 injured.

 

Bodies of four drivers with their hands tied were recovered by the police; however, five were still missing. Only two out of 35 trucks made it back to Thall, while more than 10 trucks were looted and set on fire.

 

The government also started a limited “counter-terrorism operation” in the Lower Kurram tehsil on January 19, but it was concluded after four days.

 

It merits mention that despite the peace agreement, the main transportation routes in Kurram have been closed for four months, causing great trouble for the local population. As per official records, only six aid convoys carrying essential supplies and medicines have reached the district.