PESHAWAR: The death toll in days-long sectarian clashes in Pakistan’s northwestern Kurram district has risen to 64, authorities said on Saturday, as the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) announced it was striving for a ceasefire and would develop its strategy to address the situation in consultation with local elders.
The violence in the restive tribal district bordering Afghanistan began on Thursday when gunmen attacked a convoy carrying members of the minority Shiite community, killing 41 people.
Clashes intensified over the next 24 hours, with sporadic gunfire reported in multiple areas of Kurram, leaving 23 more dead and at least 86 wounded, according to local officials.
“The provincial government is making serious efforts for a peaceful and sustainable resolution of the Kurram conflict,” KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who chaired a meeting via video link to discuss the situation, was quoted as saying in an official statement. “A ceasefire in the area is essential to move toward resolving the conflict.”
“The provincial government will formulate its plan of action in light of consultations and proposals from local elders,” he added.
Earlier in the day, the KP administration dispatched a high-level delegation to Kurram to assess the situation and engage with tribal leaders. Local media widely reported that the delegation’s helicopter came under fire while landing, a claim the provincial authorities denied as “baseless.”
“We landed safely and held meetings with tribal elders and officials of the district administration in Kurram,” said provincial government spokesman Muhammad Ali Saif in a video statement. “There was no such incident [of firing on the helicopter].”
Former parliamentarian Sajid Hussain Turi, who was part of the delegation, also dismissed the reports as “propaganda,” urging media outlets to verify information before circulating.
The delegation met with Shia elders in Parachinar, the district’s main town, to seek proposals for ending the violence and is scheduled to meet Sunni elders in Sadda on Sunday, officials said.
The clashes mark one of the deadliest incidents in Kurram in recent years, following outbreaks of sectarian violence in July and September that killed dozens.
Gandapur described Friday’s attacks as “deeply regrettable and condemnable” and said the government would fulfill any legitimate demands from both sides to prevent further bloodshed.
“Establishing peace in the region is currently the provincial government’s top priority,” he added.
Shop owners in Parachinar have announced a three-day strike in protest against the violence, as residents report an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty across the district.

KARACHI: Officials from Saudi aid agency KSrelief, as part of a Global Polio Eradication Initiative delegation, met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss strengthening Pakistan’s vaccination campaigns, tackling polio challenges and securing support for a polio-free future, according to an official statement released on Saturday.
Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world. The South Asian nation’s polio eradication campaign has faced serious challenges, with a significant spike in reported cases this year amid militant attacks on polio teams, prompting officials to reassess their approach to combating the crippling disease.
Pakistan reported two new polio cases from Dera Ismail Khan in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province a day earlier, bringing the total number of cases to 52 since the beginning of the year.
“Pakistan hosted a high-level delegation from the GPEI for a second time this year from Nov. 20-22,” the Pakistan Polio Eradication Program (PPEP) said in a statement, adding that the meeting reflected the highest level of political commitment to eradicating polio in the country.
The delegation included two senior KSrelief officials along with World Health Organization, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and UNICEF representatives.
The prime minister expressed gratitude to the delegation for supporting Pakistan, emphasizing that the country considers the eradication of polio a top priority.
“A strategic National Emergency Action Plan is being implemented to reverse the virus surge, and all chief ministers and secretaries are providing direct oversight and working in coordination to fight the current polio outbreak,” Sharif was quoted as saying.
“The Government of Pakistan will not rest until we have ended the scourge of polio from our borders,” he added.
The delegation also visited metropolitan Karachi during their stay in the country, where its members met with female frontline health workers to discuss the challenges they face and explore ways to address them, the statement said.
Of the 52 polio cases reported in 2024, 24 were from Balochistan province, 13 from Sindh, 13 from KP, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad, the federal capital.
Poliovirus, which can cause crippling paralysis, particularly in young children, remains incurable and continues to threaten human health as long as it is not eradicated. Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have made significant progress in Pakistan, but persistent challenges remain.
In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported approximately 20,000 cases annually, but by 2018 the number had dropped to eight. Six cases were reported in 2023, and only one in 2021.