PARACHINAR, PESHAWAR: Residents of the violence-marred Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continue to reel under the worsening crisis amid existing road closures which have led to a severe shortage of of food, medicine, fuel and other necessary items in the area.
The main Kurram-Peshawar road has been closed for 76 days leading to residents staging a four-day sit-in — also attended by children — at the Parachinar Press Club.
Decrying that people were starving due to severe food shortage, the protesters have maintained that their sit-in would continue till roads were reopened.
Speaking on road closures, Kurram Deputy Commissioner Javidullah Mehsud has reiterated the government’s stance saying that the routes have been blocked due to security concerns.
Last week, the provincial Apex Committee decided to dismantle all private bunkers in the Kurram district as part of efforts to restore peace in the region which has seen more than 200 fatalities since July due to tribal clashes.
With government and tribal elders engaged in strenuous efforts to restore peace, the warring sides agreed to an indefinite ceasefire on December 6.
Relief services
However, the government’s decision to keep the roads blocked to quell the violence has led to Upper Kurram being cut off from the rest of the country resulting in around 400,000 residents being stranded there, The News reported on Sunday.
The prolonged closure has disrupted daily life in the area. Government and private educational institutions have been forced to shut down due to fuel shortages, and ATMs are non-functional as banks have run out of cash. Hotels, bakeries, vegetable stalls, and fruit shops are also closed due to a lack of supplies.
Owing to the district’s humanitarian disaster, rescue service Edhi Foundation is operating three flights per day to deliver medicine and airlift patients.
Lamenting the dire situation in the area, Saad Edhi has said that at least 29 children have lost their lives due to lack of proper medical treatment, whereas the actual number, he claimed, was much higher.
The protesters, who have been staging a sit-in, however, maintain that the number of deceased children is more than 50.
A day earlier, sources affiliated with Edhi also claimed the deaths of 50 children with 31 fatalities occurring at the DHQ Hospital in Parachinar.
In light of Kurram’s existing situation, the provincial government has launched a helicopter service with an official communique claiming that a total of 147 people, including tribal elders, patients, students, government staff and other civilians have been airlifted so far.
In its first flight, the helicopter transported 15 individuals, including jirga members and government officials, from Peshawar to Parachinar.
The helicopter made three additional trips between Parachinar and Thall, transporting 87 people from Parachinar to Thall and 15 individuals back to Parachinar.
In its final flight on Sunday, 30 people were airlifted from Parachinar to Peshawar.
Meanwhile, the number of people airlifted in the past two days stood at 200.
Moreover, to address the shortage of medicines in the area, since December 4, the helicopter has completed seven flights, delivering medical supplies worth over Rs60 million to Kurram.
KP’s Health Adviser Ihtisham Ali on Monday, said that medicines worth tens of millions have been supplied to Parachinar since December 4.
Providing details, the official said that 4.5 tonnes of medicines have been delivered to Kurram’s Sadda.
He also added that DHQ Hospital Hangu has also been provided with supplies to ensure the provision of medicines in the city.
