Kurram clashes: six more killed, death toll rises to 130

PESHAWAR: At least six more people were killed and eight injured during clashes between rival tribes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district as the violence entered the 11th day.

The ongoing violence has now taken the death toll to 130 and injuries to 186, according to local officials.

The unrest has disrupted transportation routes, including the main Peshawar-Parachinar highway and the Pak-Afghan Kharlachi border crossing.

The blockades have led to acute shortages of fuel, food supplies, and essential medicines in the affected areas.

Kurram Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mehsud said that police and security forces have been deployed at several locations in Lower Kurram.

He said that efforts were under way to enforce a ceasefire in the remaining conflict zones, he added.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, accompanied by a tribal council, has reached in Kohat.

He is expected to hold talks with provincial political and tribal leaders in an attempt to mediate and restore peace in the region.

Earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur called for a zero-tolerance approach against troublemakers responsible for the Kurram crisis.

“Shoot-on-sight action should be taken against agitators who disrupt peace,” he said, underlining the government’s resolve to maintain order.

Speaking at the KP’s Grand Jirga held in Kohat on Saturday, he emphasized the need for unity and decisive action to end the ongoing conflict in the Kurram district, calling it not a land dispute but a product of deep-seated hatred.

On November 24, rival tribes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district had agreed to a seven-day ceasefire and exchange captives and bodies.