In recent conflicts between Sunni and Shia Muslim parties in Pakistan‘s disturbed Kurram tribal region in the north, more than 30 people have died and dozens have been injured.
The religious hostility comes after the lethal attack on a convoy of about 200 vehicles in Kurram on Thursday, which left scores of people dead and injured.
Soon after the patients ‘ funerals were held on Friday in their respective villages, new conflicts broke out. Adul Nabi Bangash, a native politician in Parachinar, the city office, told TOI that on Friday evening a group of Shia Muslims attacked Sunni places, such as Bagan fair, with light and heavy arms. He revealed that both sides had raised armies shortly after Thursday’s affair.
18 Shias and 14 Sunnis were among the dead, according to a representative from the regional government. Almost 50 people were wounded in over battle.
Nine wounded people were treated as seriously, according to Dr. Qaisar Abbas, a region health official in Kurram.
Witnesses said armed people broke into shops, petrol stations, houses and governmental structures in Kurram’s Bagan and Bacha Kot neighbourhoods after Friday prayers. Users of social media shared images and videos of an orange business that was burning and piercing the night sky. Gunfire can also be heard in the background.
On Saturday, businesses, educational facilities, and markets closed across Parachinar and its environs for the next day in a row. According to officials, cellular phone signals are still being used throughout the district, describing the situation as being extremely uncomfortable. Web companies, however, have been blocked in the region for many decades.
In the rocky city, which borders Afghanistan on three sides, there have been about 150 fatalities in recent months.
Numerous people had already lost their lives in previous clashes in July and September, but a council of elders simply intervened after a peace request was made.
However, thousands of people participated in a sit-in in Parachinar, where activists criticised govt’s failure to protect citizens. Local businesses in the area had reported a three-day attack against the attack, while residents of the area have described a heightened sense of fear.
No one has claimed duty for the attack, which occurred a year after authorities reopened a crucial highway in the area after months of dangerous fighting. The banned terrorist organization Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ( TTP), which has recently been active in Kurram, is also the subject of speculation. However, government officials attributed the affair to a property debate.
