The death toll in Pakistan’s sectarian riots is now over 130, according to an official.

News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 1st December 2024

Despite a tentative ceasefire established late last week, deadly sectarian skirmishes in Pakistan’s north-western Kurram region have continued, with the death toll now over 130 as authorities attempt to broker a settlement, according to local officials. Kurram, located close the Afghan border, has long been a source of sectarian strife. They erupted into a new round of attacks this month, when riots between Sunnis and Shias killed dozens.

Wajid Hussain, a district administration officer, said 133 people were murdered in the attacks during the last week and a half.
“The district administration and other relevant authorities have initiated efforts to stop fighting between the two communities but there is no breakthrough yet,” he disclosed. Last Sunday, a Pakistani government team negotiated a seven-day ceasefire between the competing parties. For decades, armed Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims have been fighting for property and other local conflicts in Kurram.

The death toll was placed at 97 by provincial authorities, with 43 murdered in the initial incident when gunmen opened fire on primarily Shia drivers, and the remainder died in retaliatory fighting. On Saturday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, paid a visit to the area with a big group of tribal elders and leaders. “Anyone who takes up arms will be treated as a terrorist, and their fate will be that of a terrorist,” Gandapur said in a statement released late Saturday by his office, adding that security troops will remain in the region.

Residents and officials said the main highway connecting Kurram’s main city of Parachinar to the provincial capital Peshawar was blocked, which had created challenges transferring wounded people to hospitals.

“Our medical team is working around the clock to perform surgeries due to the challenges in referring patients to larger hospitals in Peshawar and elsewhere,” said Dr Syed Mir Hassan, from Parachinar’s district hospital.