Clashes claim 35 lives as ceasefire eludes Kurram

KURRAM: Gunfire continued to ring out on Sunday in the volatile district bordering Afgha­nistan, despite authorities’ claims of having brokered a ceasefire between two feuding tribes in Kurram.

The five-day conflict has so far claimed at least 35 lives, according to Mir Hassan Jan, the medical superintendent of the Kurram District Head­quarters Hospital.

Mr Jan said that 166 people have been injured in the conflict.

Hostilities between two rival groups hailing from Boshehra and Maleekhel tribes flared up over a land dispute last week and both sides resorted to using heavy weapons to target each other’s positions.

Clashes had also spread to other areas, such as Peewar, Tangi, Balishkhel, Khaar Kalay, Maqbal, Kunj Alizai, Para Chamkani, and Karman. A day earlier, locals said that missiles and rockets were also fired on Parachinar and Sadda towns.

On Sunday, police and the district administration claimed that a jirga from Hangu and Orakzai districts managed to broker a ceasefire after four days of hectic efforts to end hostilities.

Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mahsud said that jirga members held talks with the elders of both groups and persuaded them to vacate their positions after which the two sides agreed to a ceasefire.

The official claimed a ceasefire had been enforced in Boshehra with the help of the tribal elders and efforts were underway to extend it to other areas, where the firing continued until late on Sunday evening.

In Boshehra, police and security personnel were deployed after the ceasefire, but firing continued in at least three places in the district.

Due to tensions, all educational institutions and bazaars remained closed over the weekend, while traffic on main roads remained suspended. Locals said that road blockades had resulted in a shortage of food items and medicines in the district.

Meanwhile, different religious and political parties staged demonstrations in Parachinar and Islam­abad and demanded the government take steps for an immediate ceasefire.