PESHAWAR: The provincial administration of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Friday instructed police to take necessary steps to end ongoing clashes in Kurram district over a property dispute, with nine people killed and dozens injured.

Located along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, the area has witnessed deadly conflicts among tribes and religious groups in the past as well as sectarian clashes and militant attacks. A major conflict that began in Kurram in 2007 continued for years before it was ended with the help of a jirga, a traditional assembly of tribal elders.

The current clash over a land dispute broke out on Wednesday and quickly spread to several villages and nearby settlements. 

According to an official statement circulated by the KP government, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur directed the district administration and police to ensure a ceasefire.

“No one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands or disturb the peace of the area,” Gandapur was quoted as saying. “The administration and police must ensure the rule of government and law in the area. The parties to the dispute are also urged to resolve the property issue through a jirga according to tribal traditions.”

Syed Mir Hassan Jan, the Medical Superintendent at the District Headquarters Hospital in Kurram, said nine bodies and 58 injured people linked to the clashes had been brought to the hospital in the last three days.

The District Police Officer in Kurram, Nisar Ahmad Khan, said sporadic attacks were still ongoing.

“The conflict intensifies at night,” he said. “Sporadic exchange of fire has been going on between the tribes during the past two days.”

Khan said a large number of police and army personnel had been deployed at various locations to prevent clashes.

“The jirga, district administration, army and police have intervened to control the situation,” he added. 

The roads leading to Kurram have also been shut down since the clashes began.

“The entrances and exits were closed so that any third-party intervention could be avoided,” the DPO said.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan criticized the “belligerent remarks” of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday after being accused by him of employing “terrorism” in its eastern neighborhood to advance its strategic interests.

Modi’s comments came at an event to mark the 25th anniversary of a military conflict between the two nuclear-armed rivals in the Himalayan region of Kargil.

Both neighboring states share an uneasy relationship, with India accusing Pakistan of using militant groups as proxies to fight its rule in Kashmir, the Himalayan region both claim in full but rule only in part.

Pakistan has denied New Delhi’s accusations, saying it only provides diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris seeking self-determination, though it has fought two out of three wars with India over Kashmir.

“Pakistan rejects the Indian Prime Minister’s belligerent remarks made in Drass, Ladakh on 26 July 2024,” the foreign office said in a statement.

“Bravado and jingoism undermine regional peace, and are totally counter-productive for resolution of long-standing disputes between Pakistan and India, especially the core dispute of Jammu and Kashmir,” it continued.

The foreign office said such statements by Indian leaders could not deflect international attention from New Delhi’s “heavy-handed approach” to suppress the struggle of Kashmiri people.

“Instead of maligning others for terrorism, India should reflect on its own campaign of orchestrating targeted assassinations, subversion and terrorism in foreign territories,” it added.

The statement also highlighted Pakistan’s ability to safeguard its sovereignty, making a reference to the February 2019 downing of an Indian fighter jet in response to an aerial incursion.

It noted that while Pakistan was ready to “counter India’s aggressive actions,” it was committed to promoting peace and stability in the neighborhood.

Earlier, Modi said he wanted to “tell these patrons of terrorism that their unholy plans will never be successful” against his country.

India-Pakistan relations have been largely frozen as the two countries downgraded their diplomatic ties in tit-for-tat moves in August 2019 after New Delhi scrapped Kashmir’s special status and split it into two federally administered territories.

Ties were further strained after a suicide bombing of an Indian military convoy in Kashmir was traced to Pakistan-based militants, prompting India to carry out an airstrike on what it said was a militant base in Pakistan.

Earlier this year, Pakistan said there was credible evidence linking Indian agents to the killing of people on its soil — accusations that India termed “fake.”

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said last month that India would look for a solution to cross-border terrorism, which “cannot be the policy of a good neighbor.”

With input from Reuters