‘Peace in Kurram dependent on warring tribes surrendering weapons’

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister’s (CM) adviser, Barrister Muhammad Saif, said on Thursday that peace in Kurram could not be achieved unless all clans surrendered their arms to the government.

“Without disarmament, ensuring security and reopening roads remains a challenge,” Barrister Saif said in a telephonic conversation with Geo Pakistan. 

Responding to a question about the closure of the main road in Kurram, Saif said that the basic reason to close the 20-kilometer road from Tal to Parachinar was the recent attack on a 200-vehicle convoy.

He said that the provincial cabinet had decided that rival clans must also demolish trenches and bunkers along the road to Parachinar. “As soon as both clans disarm themselves, the road will be re-opened,” he said.

Saif dismissed claims that Kurram was facing a shortage of medicine and goods. “We have delivered medicines there via helicopter, and life-saving drugs are also available at the District Headquarters (DHQ) hospital.”

He was referring to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority’s (PDMA) provision of relief goods worth Rs150 million to the Kurram deputy commissioner for distribution among those affected by violence.

To another question, Saif maintained that mutual trust was contingent upon the factions surrendering their weapons to ensure lasting peace.

On November 21, gunmen ambushed a police-escorted convoy, which was headed towards Peshawar from Parachinar, leaving 52 dead and multiple wounded. Subsequently, clashes between warring clans escalated with the tribes agreeing to an “indefinite ceasefire” on December 6 after days of fighting.

Businesses, educational institutions and markets remained closed across Parachinar amid the clashes. The deadly dispute, which claimed at least 122 lives and left another 168 injured, also led to thousands taking to the streets in various cities across the country, demanding peace in the troubled area.

According to experts, land ownership issues in the region are the main bone of contention in the district. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, the scale and violence of land disputes in Kurram have intensified and are fueled by the influx of advanced weapons left behind by retreating American forces.

Despite an All-Parties Conference (APC) led by KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, and KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur's directions to demolish dugouts of rival tribes and for the seizure of their weapons, peace has alluded the area, resulting in an uncertain future.