Fierce sectarian clashes have continued in Pakistan's northwestern Kurram district despite a temporary lull late last week. Local officials said authorities are trying to resolve the crisis. Meanwhile, the death toll has risen to over 130 so far. British news agency Reuters reported this news.
Kurram, bordering Afghanistan, has been at the center of sectarian tensions for decades. The latest wave of attacks comes after dozens of people were killed in clashes between Sunnis and Shiites last month.
District Administration Officer Wajid Hussain said that 133 people were killed in the last one and a half week of attacks. He said, 'The district administration and other relevant authorities have started efforts to stop the fighting between the two communities. But there has been no progress yet.'
A Pakistani government team brokered a seven-day ceasefire between the rival factions last Sunday. Armed Shia and Sunni Muslims have been engaged in tribal and sectarian rivalries over land and other local disputes in Kurram for decades.
Provincial authorities put the death toll at 97. The gunmen opened fire on mostly Shiite motorists in the initial attack. 43 people were killed then. And the rest were killed in retaliatory clashes.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur visited the area on Saturday for a large gathering of tribal elders and leaders.
“Anyone who takes up arms will be treated as a terrorist and will suffer the fate of a terrorist,” Gandapur said in a statement released by his office late Saturday night.
He also said that the security forces will remain in the violence-prone areas.
The main highway connecting Kurram's main town of Parachinar with the provincial capital Peshawar was blocked, residents and officials said. This made it difficult to shift the injured to hospital.
Dr Syed Mir Hasan of Parachinar District Hospital said, 'Our medical team is working round the clock for surgeries due to the challenge of sending patients to big hospitals in Peshawar and other places.'
He also said that they are currently treating around 100 injured patients. He also said that 50 dead bodies were found during the violence.
