For more than three and a half months, over 100 villages in Upper and Lower Kurram, including Parachinar’s district headquarters, have been under siege.
The area is facing extreme hostilities, especially since an attack on a convoy on November 21, 2024, that killed 50 people, including women and children. The convoy was travelling from Peshawar to Parachinar.
Despite peace agreements, the central highway to Parachinar remains closed, preventing the delivery of essential supplies such as food.
Local elders attribute the ongoing insecurity to the long and porous border with Afghanistan, which has become a hotspot for instability. Some believe that resolving the issue requires both sides to move past previous mistakes and embrace reconciliation.
In Lower Kurram, security forces and police units are conducting operations against militants, with a curfew currently in place.
According to officials, 20 families have already evacuated their homes in the affected areas of Lower Kurram. Some of these displaced families have sought refuge with relatives, while others have relocated to Hangu.
The situation in Kurram remains dire, with residents facing severe shortages of basic necessities and ongoing security challenges.
The continued blockade and violence have left the community in a state of distress, calling for urgent attention and resolution.
Meanwhile, a clearance operation launched by the law enforcement agencies along with the civil administration to rid Kurram district of miscreants continued for the third day in Bagan and its adjacent areas.
The operation was launched after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government greenlighted “indiscriminate and stringent action” against those involved in attacks on relief convoys and deputy commissioner.
Personnel from the KP police, district administration, and other law enforcement agencies were taking part in the clearance operation in Bagan and its suburban parts after shifting residents to safe localities, sources closer to the provincial government told Geo News.
Prior to this development, the district administration had established camps for temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) in four village councils of the lower part of the Kurram tribal district.
A convoy of relief goods is likely to be dispatched for the district in the next couple of days.
On the other hand, affectees whose shops and houses burnt were in the riots following the attack on a convoy in Bagan on November 21, 2024, are awaiting compensation for the damages. At least 400 shops and hundreds of houses were gutted in the incident.
Moreover, a sit-in continues on the Talpara-Chinar Highway in Manduri for approval of their demands and financial assistance.
Despite a peace deal reached between the warring tribes under the negotiations facilitated by the Grand Jirga, the Kurram Peace Committee, and local peace groups, the situation remains precarious in the district.
