Death toll in Kurram rises to 88 amid tribal tensions: health official

The death toll in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district amid tribal tensions rose to 88 on Monday, a day after the government said that a ceasefire was agreed upon in the violence-hit region, according to a health official.

Multiple people have been killed in the area since violence erupted following Thursday’s deadly attack when a convoy of around 200 vehicles came under heavy gunfire in Kurram’s densely populated Bagan town, killing at least 43 people.

Further 21 people were killed in separate clashes leading into the weekend as violence escalated, taking the total to 64 dead. The government travelled to Kurram on Saturday to ease tensions in the area following which, Barrister Muha­mmad Ali Saif, the information adviser to KP’s chief minister, said that a ceasefire was agreed on in the area for seven days between the battling tribes, who had also decided to return each other’s bodies and prisoners.

Barrister Saif had also announced a high-powered commission to settle land disputes between the tribes.

However, Kurram District Health Officer Dr Qaisar Abbas told Dawn.com today the death toll rose to 88 people killed while 111 were injured. It is not clear at this point if the dead are linked to the clashes between the tribes.

Dr Abbas said that due to not having access to facilities, the injured were in critical condition.

PPP leader Sajid Hussain Turi told Dawn.com that government officials met the Shia and Sunni tribes that had agreed upon a ceasefire and efforts were underway to normalise the situation as soon as possible.

However, Moin Hussain, a village councillor, told Dawn.com that the situation had turned from bad to worse as fighting continued between the tribes, adding that there was no confirmation of a ceasefire.

“The efforts of the delegation that came are not visible on the ground,” the village official said.

Education Union President Muhammad Hayat Khan told Dawn.com that the exams students had today were postponed indefinitely, adding that all educational institutions in the area were shut.

According to a Dawn.com correspondent in the area, mobile and data services were suspended in the area, meanwhile, all travel routes were also shut.

Clashes between the tribes of Alizai and Bagan did not stop whereas fighting between tribes in Baleechkhel and Kharkalay in Lower Kurram also continued, the correspondent reported.

Kurram district, which borders Afghanistan, has long been plagued by sectarian tensions, often fuelled by disputes over land ownership.

While a government-appointed land commission had reportedly submitted its findings in the past, the report remains unpublished due to sectarian sensitivities.