PESHAWAR: Sporadic gunfire and violence persist in Pakistan’s Kurram district despite a ceasefire brokered last weekend by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) administration in the region, following sectarian clashes that have killed 98 and injured over 130 in the last nine days, a police official said Friday.
Kurram, a former semi-autonomous tribal area bordering Afghanistan, has a long history of violent conflicts that have claimed hundreds of lives over the years. A major conflict in the district, triggered in 2007, lasted for years before being resolved by a jirga, or council of tribal elders, in 2011.
The recent clashes in the restive district broke out when gunmen attacked a convoy carrying members of the minority Shiite community in Lower Kurram on November 21, killing 41 people.
Wazir Hussain, a police official stationed in the region, told Arab News that the ceasefire agreement had collapsed, adding that there was no let-up in clashes.
“Armed clashes have continued throughout the district,” he said over the phone. “There is a huge problem of communication because mobile signals and Internet have not been working for days.”
“Almost 98 people have died and over 130 injured in nine days of violence,” he continued. “Ceasefire agreement is nowhere and both the sides have been hitting each other’s positions with small and heavy weapons.”
Last Sunday, the provincial spokesperson of KP, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, announced in a statement that the two warring sides had agreed to temporarily halt attacks and enforce a seven-day ceasefire.
The development followed Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s statement that his administration was working toward a ceasefire before formulating a strategy to prevent such incidents in the future after consulting local elders.
Hameed Hussain, a Pakistani parliamentarian from Kurram, also confirmed while speaking to Arab News that the ceasefire brokered by the KP authorities had failed to hold up in all these days.
He said the death toll had exceeded 98 and stood at 110.
“Only last night’s clashes in Kalkuna, Badshah Kot and other villages have left 18 people dead,” he informed, adding that jirga members were trying to pacify the situation, but the government was finding it difficult to enforce its writ in the area.
Hussain said he had spoken with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a day earlier and briefed him about the situation.
“I told the PM that the government should at least secure the roads in Kurram for passengers to travel securely,” he added. “The prime minister promised to ensure durable peace in the area and take steps to resolve the issue.”
Kurram’s Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mehsud told the media the district administration was making efforts to implement the ceasefire agreement.
“A breakthrough to halt attacks and enforce the ceasefire is expected soon,” he added.
The clashes in Kurram mark one of the deadliest incidents in the region in recent years, following outbreaks of sectarian violence in July and September that killed dozens.
According to local elders, dozens of families have moved from the region to safer locations to avoid casualties.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, will undertake a two-day official visit to Iran on Dec. 2-3 to attend the 28th meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Council of Ministers, the Pakistani foreign office said on Friday.
Pakistan and Iran have had a history of rocky relations despite a number of commercial pacts. In 2004, both countries signed the $7 billion Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project agreement but 20 years on, the project remains incomplete.
Tehran has completed the gas pipeline’s construction on its side of the border while Pakistan is seeking a United States (US) waiver to go ahead with it due to international sanctions targeting Iran.
In his address with the ECO meeting in Mashhad, Dar would highlight the potential of greater connectivity in the ECO region, according to Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch.
“Deputy PM will reiterate Pakistan’s commitment to the ECO charter and highlight the potential of greater connectivity in the ECO region to development of road and rail networks, liberalization of visa regimes, simplification of border procedures and to maintain sustainable growth and enhance geo-economic potential of the ECO region,” Baloch said at a weekly press briefing in Islamabad.
“Deputy PM will sign the charter for ECO clean energy center and hold bilateral meetings with participating ministers and other dignitaries on the sidelines.”
Dar would also reiterate Pakistan’s concerns over hostilities in the Middle East endangering peace and security.
The development comes weeks after Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi’s two-day visit to Islamabad to hold consultations with the Pakistani leadership on the Middle East situation following Israel’s invasion of Gaza and Lebanon, and to discuss bilateral ties with Pakistan.
Despite several agreements between them, Pakistan and Iran have often been at odds over instability along their shared, porous border and routinely trade blame for not rooting out militancy. Tensions surged in January when Pakistan and Iran exchanged airstrikes, both claiming to target alleged militant hideouts in each other’s territory.
Late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi had later traveled to Pakistan on a three-day visit in April to ease tensions and strengthen bilateral relations. The two sides had also signed memorandums of understanding in the fields of trade, science technology, agriculture, health, culture, and judicial matters.