Police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lower Kurram district say a gun attack on passenger vans in the Ochat area on Thursday killed at least 38 people.
House Officer Kaleem Shah of Ahmady Shama Station told Dawn.com that 11 people were hurt and 38 people, including three women, were slain.
Speaking to the reporters outside the Islamabad High Court, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi provided the same number.
“It’s been a tough and distressing week; 38 people have been martyred in Kurram,” he stated. These days, we witness a new occurrence every day and communicate with the chief minister, KP inspector general of police, and KP officials on a daily basis. They require assistance.
The interior minister declared, “We will not abandon them because they are a part of our nation and one of our provinces.” “We’ll lend a hand however we can.”
Speaking about the event, KP government spokesperson Barrister Dr. Saif stated that the passenger convoy was targeted from both sides after police officers were attacked initially. “The convoy consisted of about 200 vehicles,” he stated.
According to him, cops, top police officials, and the district administration were all on the scene. The issue is still being investigated, Barrister Saif stated.
“Terrorists in the Kurram district targeted two distinct convoys of Shia community members,” Kurram Deputy Commissioner (DC) Javedullah Mehsud told AFP.
About 40 cars made up each convoy, which was escorted by police.
Additionally, DC Mehsud stated that “we are currently searching for [the attackers] in the area, and women and children sought refuge in local houses.”
He told Dawn.com that although sectarian attacks had happened before, the present attack also targeted civilians; therefore, terrorism could not be completely ruled out. According to him, there were tribal land issues in Kurram.
Thirty-three persons were killed and thirty injured, according to Tehsil Head Quarters (THQ) Hospital Alizai Medical Superintendent Dr. Muhammad Ishaq. He also stated that the injured were being sent to different hospitals in the district, some of which were in Peshawar.
“The death toll is likely to rise,” KP Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry told Reuters.
President Asif Ali Zardari sent his sympathies to the deceased’s family and vehemently denounced the event.
In a post on X, the PPP’s media cell cited him as saying, “It is cowardly and inhumane to attack innocent passengers.”
He went on to say that the incident’s perpetrators ought to face consequences. He called for the injured to receive medical attention as soon as possible.
In a statement denouncing the incident, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also directed that the best medical services be made available to those hurt in the assault.
He gave the order to track down and punish the offenders.
The convoy of innocent individuals was targeted by the nation’s adversaries of peace, which is a form of brutality. Every effort by anti-national groups to disrupt the tranquility of the cherished nation shall be stopped.
“The incident’s malevolent components will be found and dealt with appropriately. By such vile acts, saboteurs cannot demoralize the courageous Pakistani people,” he remarked.
Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of KP, denounced the occurrence and took careful notice of it.
He gave the chief secretary, the provincial law minister, the local MNA, and the MPA instructions to send a delegation to Kurram right away to personally inspect the situation and provide a report.
In order to ease the situation in Kurram, the chief minister also asked for the reactivation of the local Jirga.
“To secure all highways in the province, work should be done to establish a provincial highways police,” CM Gandapur instructed officials.
“The local law and order situation is being improved by the provincial government, police, and all pertinent institutions,” he stated.
Targeting innocent civilians was “extremely regrettable and condemnable,” said Chief Minister Gandapur, who also announced financial support for the families of those slain in the attack.
He swore that the elements implicated in the tragedy could not evade the law.
The tragedy occurs while the number of terrorist strikes in KP and Balochistan has sharply increased.
Following the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan group’s threat to target security forces and their breach of a tenuous ceasefire agreement with the government in 2022, attacks intensified.
An intelligence-based operation in the North Waziristan district of KP last month resulted in the deaths of two terrorists.
The military’s media affairs wing reported a day ago that a checkpost in the Mali Khel neighborhood of KP’s Bannu had been targeted, resulting in the martyrdom of twelve security men.
This is an ongoing tale that will be updated as circumstances change. Sometimes the first reports in the media are not correct. By depending on reliable sources, including our staff reporters and concerned, qualified authorities, we will work to guarantee timeliness and accuracy.
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