The local deputy commissioner announced on Friday that 42 persons had been killed and over 30 injured in yesterday’s gun attack on passenger vans in Lower Kurram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Dawn.com was informed by Kurram Deputy Commissioner (DC) Javedullah Mehsud that seven ladies and a nine-year-old girl were among the dead.
The Mandori Charkhel district, which has a history of land conflicts and sectarian strife, was the scene of Thursday’s attack.
According to DC Mehsud, the convoy, which had over 200 vehicles, was traveling from Parachinar to Peshawar yesterday when it was heavily targeted by gunfire. He had separately told AFP that two attacks had targeted two different Shia passenger convoys.
The DC stated that the bodies of the deceased had been transferred to Parachinar and that efforts were being made to preserve the lives of those who were hurt.
DC Mehsud stated that schools and markets have been shuttered since the incident and that “we will try to restore the routine life as quickly as possible before then a grand jirga will be called.”
At first, no group had taken credit for the incident.
Dawn was informed by sources that the incident, which happened at approximately 1:20 pm, seemed to be reprisal for an attack on October 12 that killed 15 people, including two women and a child. Given the high level of tension in the tribal territory, local leaders voiced worry that the situation would worsen.
Among those assaulted was Ajmeer Hussain, who was treated at a nearby hospital.
Hussain, a 28-year-old victim receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, told AFP, “Gunfire suddenly erupted, and I started reciting my prayers, thinking these were my final moments.”
I reclined at the feet of the two travelers seated next me. They were both hit by several rounds and passed away right away,” he continued. “The gunfire continued for roughly five minutes.”
Officials attribute the incident to a “land dispute.”
Conflicts between communities over land ownership have long been a source of sectarian bloodshed in the Afghan bordering Kurram area.
To settle the issue, the government had already established a land commission. The government has not yet made the study public, citing sensitivities around the subject, even though the commission has allegedly delivered its conclusions.
The banned terrorist organization Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has recently been active in Lower Kurram, is also suspected of being involved, which has caused villagers to become alarmed. However, government officials ruled out sectarian motivations and blamed the event on the ongoing land dispute.
Jalal Bangash, a tribal leader of the Tori Bangash tribes, urged authorities to evacuate stranded travelers right now and take action to protect the injured.
Bangash and Allama Tajammal Hussain denounced the assault, emphasizing that despite earlier attempts at peace, like as a large-scale local march from Parachinar to Islamabad, state institutions had failed to secure transportation lines.
According to a think tank, at least 55 security personnel were slain in the first three weeks of November, which coincides with a dramatic increase in terrorist assaults in KP and Balochistan.
After a checkpoint was targeted on Tuesday in the Bannu area of KP, six terrorists were slain and twelve security officers were martyred.
After the TTP pledged to target security personnel and violated a precarious ceasefire agreement with the government in 2022, attacks intensified.
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