Sectarian violence in northwestern Pakistan leaves 46 dead in eight days

A minor dispute between two families over sowing of crops has turned into massive sectarian tribal clashes, leaving at least 46 dead and more than 80 injured within a span of eight days in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province's Kurram tribal district bordering Afghanistan. 

The district has been one of the most sensitive regions in the Pakistani province, not only in terms of spread of terrorism and militant groups, but also for land claim disputes between rival groups fighting against each other for decades now.

"The district administration, police, military and the local tribal elders are putting their best foot forward to convince the warring factions that a ceasefire would be in everyone's best interest," said Javedullah Mehsud, Deputy Commissioner of Kurram.

A ceasefire agreement was reached on Wednesday but armed clashes continued in the upper, lower and central tehsils of the Kurram district.

Locals of the area said that the claimed number of casualties on both sides will certainly be much higher.

"The death toll is much higher than it is being reported. At least 80 people have already been injured. We are still not sure how long this fight will continue because both sides have severe rivalry against each other on not only land claims but also on sectarian terms as one party is from Sunni and the other from Shia sect," said a local.

The severity of the conflict is so high that the Parachinar-Peshawar main road and the Pak-Afghan Kharlachi border has been closed. Reports from the area also suggest that due to the blockade of routes, there is a fast-growing shortage of food, fuel and medicines. All educational institutions in the area have also been closed for the past six days.

Local sources in the area confirmed that severe clashes are still underway in areas including Baliskhel, Kharkalay, Bagki, Gram Pada, Kunj Alizai, Muqbal, and Pewar Tari Mengal.

"These families have been fighting each other for decades. Both have military grade weapons and they do not need support or attention from the government or the military to fight each other. There is a serious sectarian divide here, and we have seen in the past that even the most respected means of dispute resolution through the Tribal Jirgas (councils) have miserably failed to end the conflict," said another local.

People in the region complain that missiles are also being fired towards the Parachinar city, leaving the whole population at risk.

A Sunni and Shia tribal war is no surprise in Kurram district as Parachinar has been the epicentre of sectarian clashes, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides for a long time now.