Section 144 imposed in Kurram, crackdown on miscreants announced 

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Sunday imposed Section 144 in Kurram after an attack on the deputy commissioner the other day.

The provincial government has also announced a crackdown on miscreants after Deputy Commissioner Javaidullah Mehsud and seven others were injured following a convoy transporting aid to Parachinar came under attack in Bagan on Saturday.

Deputy Commissioner Javaidullah Mehsud and others were attacked by 40 to 50 armed miscreants when they were negotiating to open the road leading to Parachinar as part of the peace agreement signed by rival parties on Wednesday.

Under the peace agreement, a convoy of 75 trucks loaded with medicines, food, vegetables and fruits, among other items, was to reach Kurram on Saturday.

Under Section 144, gatherings, processions and the display of weapons have been banned in the region. The KP government has announced to take strict action against those disrupting peace. 

KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur also chaired a meeting in Kohat that lasted four hours. Senior military officials, the KP chief secretary, the police chief and others attended the meeting. 

The meeting decided that the perpetrators involved in the attack on the deputy commissioner would not be spared, and law and order would be restored in the restive Kurram region. The meeting also approved a targeted operation against troublemakers. 

A notification issued by the additional chief secretary confirmed the imposition of Section 144 in the Kurram district. All forms of gatherings and processions on the main highway from Teri to Chhapri have been banned. 

The meeting participants emphasised that the peace of Kurram could not be left in the hands of a few miscreants. They assured the public that normalcy would soon return to Kurram and all key routes, including the Chinar Road, would be reopened to traffic.