Roadblocks in Parachinar claim more than 100 lives
Over 100 children have died due to the lack of medical facilities in the Parachinar area of Kurram Agency.
A sit-in of protesting citizens against the closure of roads- giving rise to a humanitarian crisis in the region- has entered its sixth day.
Geo News quotes tehsil chairman Upper Kurram Agha Muzammil, who said, “Due to the closure of roads, citizens are deprived of food and treatment, and more than 100 children have died due to lack of medical facilities.”
The same concern was expressed by Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) and Jafria Alliance on Tuesday as they highlighted the plight of the region, stating that a humanitarian crisis had been unfolding there, affecting not only Shia population but people of all faiths.
They asked the federal and provincial governments to solve the ongoing crisis in Parachinar.
To express solidarity with the people of the troubled region, the Majlis-e-Wahdat Muslimeen held a protest sit-in at Karachi’s Numaish Chowrangi and Lahore Press Club.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Advisor to Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Barrister Saif, addressed the issue of the closure of roads by saying that the establishment of a special police force has been approved for the Parachinar Road while the government's measures are aimed at a sustainable and permanent solution to the century-old conflict in the area.
On Monday, the social activist Faisal Edhi stated that more than 50 children had died in the hospitals in Parachinar due to a lack of facilities.
However, at least 45 people in critical condition were moved to different hospitals in the provincial capital from Kurram via air ambulances as resources remained scarce.
“The government should open the routes by tonight so that normalcy can be brought back to the area,” Saad Edhi said, stressing that around 2,000kg worth of medicines supplies were delivered to the area.
Ali Hadi Irfani, an MPA from Kurram, told Dawn that rather than concerning itself with “unnecessary decisions”, the government should immediately open transportation routes.
Clashes between warring tribes over the past two and a half months has resulted in hundreds of deaths so far. All major and minor roads in the district have been closed, including Sadda Road, the main artery linking Parachinar to other regions of Kurram.
DC Kurram has said that the Grand Jirga has reached Kurram and is starting negotiations today to establish peace in the area.