Jirga member Haji Asghar says plan being formulated to reopen roads
Shamim Shahid
PARACHINAR: Amid the government’s efforts to ease tensions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram District, an eight-month peace agreement was reached between two warring tribes of the region on Saturday.
Jirga member Haji Kamal confirmed the development, saying that the agreement was finalised in the presence of Kurram Deputy Commissioner Ashfaq Ahmed along with other officials.
Sources told Geo News that elders from both sides, district administration officials, and other key stakeholders participated in the negotiations to reach the settlement.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Commissioner Ashfaq Ahmed said the truce has brought double joy for the residents ahead of Eid ul Fitr.
Meanwhile, jirga member Haji Asghar said that a plan is being formulated to reopen the roads, which have remained blocked due to ongoing tensions.
Kurram, a district of more than 600,000 residents near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, has long been a hotspot for sectarian violence. But recent months have seen escalating tensions, with clashes since July to date leaving over 200 people dead.
The recent clashes exacerbated a humanitarian crisis in the district, with medicine and oxygen supplies running critically low due to the prolonged closure of the main highway linking Parachinar to Peshawar.
Reports suggest that over 100 children may have died from a severe shortage of medicine, though Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government spokesperson Barrister Saif has denied these claims.
