DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Tension gripped Pakistan’s northwestern Kurram district as clashes broke out between two rival tribes, leaving 15 people dead and injuring another seven amid sporadic gunfire in parts of the region, officials said Saturday.
Kurram, formerly a semi-autonomous tribal area, has a history of bloody conflicts that have claimed hundreds of lives over the years. A major conflict in the district, triggered in 2007, lasted for years before being resolved by a jirga, a council of tribal elders, in 2011. However, clashes erupted again over a property dispute in July this year, leaving 38 dead and 158 injured in the region.
Speaking to Arab News over the phone, Kurram Deputy Commissioner Javed Ullah Mehsud said the recent round of violence began after unidentified gunmen opened fire on an influential tribal elder, Ijaz Hussain, who sustained serious injuries in the attack.
“Subsequently, a passenger convoy came under attack in the Kunj Alizai area of the district, in which 15 people were killed and six others injured,” he said.
Mehsud informed the district administration was working to control the situation with the help of local leaders and law enforcement officials, trying to prevent the conflict from spreading to other parts of the area.
He described these efforts as crucial, as relatively small incidents in Kurram have previously escalated into deadly tribal conflicts and sectarian violence. The region is also prone to militancy.
“For a permanent solution to such problems, an inclusive tribal committee should be formed to keep the situation in constant check,” Brigadier (retired) Said Nazir Mohmand, a security analyst familiar with the area, told Arab News.
“Secondly, the writ of the state must be ensured in the district for swift action against troublemakers,” he added.
Dr. Mir Hassan Jan, Medical Superintendent at the District Headquarters Hospital in Upper Kurram, said the authorities had put health facilities in the area on high alert to deal with emergency situations.
“We have received nine bodies and another six injured from the clashes in Kurram,” he said. “The rest of the casualties might have been taken to other health facilities in the district.”