People of Shia and Sunni communities have become thirsty for each other’s blood due to land dispute in Kurram tribal area of Pakistan. At least 64 people have died in this conflict in the last one week. Violence is showing no signs of stopping in the terror-hit Kurram district bordering Afghanistan. A ceasefire agreement was signed here only a month ago. Despite this, bloody clashes could not be stopped here.
Why did the conflict start?
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province governor Faisal Karim Kundi said bloody clashes also broke out on Friday in which several people were killed. Police say that this fight started over land. When Boshehra Shias of Upper Kurram area started building bunkers on the land of Sunni Ahmadzai community people, their protest started. After this the fire of violence spread throughout the area and many houses were set on fire. In the clashes that took place at various places, sticks, rods and ammunition were used, in which dozens of people were killed. However, there has been tension between Shia and Sunni here for about 10 years.
Even before this, about 50 people had died in the violence. Seeing the deepening of the dispute, the government intervened and brokered an agreement between the two communities in the month of August. Security officials say that traffic has been affected due to the violence that broke out again. Apart from this, the supply of food items has also reduced. People are also in need of fuel and medicines. Educational institutions have been closed due to violence.
Kurram is a hilly area and its border is with Afghanistan. About seven lakh people live here, out of which 42 percent are from Shia community. Sunni majority Pakistan, with a population of about 24 crores, has a high number of Sunnis around the city of Parachinar. Caste violence has been going on here for a long time.
The violence that started on Saturday last week continued for the sixth day on Thursday. According to the police, both sides are targeting each other with small and big weapons. Parachinar-Peshawar main road and Pak-Afghan Kharlachi border have been closed due to tension. This has disrupted the supply of essential commodities including food, fuel and medicines.
Barrister Saif Ali, a spokesman for the provincial government, said authorities were trying to defuse the tension with the help of tribal elders. Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mehsud said efforts for a ceasefire were ongoing, with the district administration, police, military leadership and tribal elders working together to bring peace in the area.
tension in these areas
The bloody conflict started from Kurram and spread to areas like Balishkhel, Sadda, Khar Kalle, Piwar and Maqbal. These areas border the Khost, Paktia, Logar and Nangarhar provinces of Afghanistan, which are considered strongholds of ISIS and Pakistani Taliban. Here in the month of July, 50 people were killed and 225 were injured.
