30 killed, 20 injured as tribal clashes rock KP’s Kurram

At least 12 more people were killed during the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 30, amid the ongoing violent clashes between the tribal groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district, police said on Saturday.

The fierce clashes between the rival tribes took place in densely populated Bagan and Alizai areas of Lower Kurram. During the violent attacks 20 people sustained injuries.

The fresh violence came two days after gunmen opened fire on two separate convoys travelling with police escort in Kurram, killing 45 people.

At least 75 people have been killed over the past three days in the ongoing gun battles between different tribes, according to police.

Following the fresh clashes, around 300 families left their homes and shifted to safe places, according to reports.

"Approximately 300 families have relocated to Hangu and Peshawar since this morning in search of safety," a senior official told AFP, adding that more families were preparing to leave the violence-hit district.

It is pertinent to mention here that tribal and family feuds are common in the area.

Last month, at least 16 people, including three women and two children, were killed in a clash in Kurram.

Previous clashes in July and September killed dozens of people and ended only after a jirga, or tribal council, called a ceasefire. HRCP said 79 people died between July and October in clashes.

Several hundred people demonstrated against the violence on Friday in Lahore and Karachi.

In Parachinar, the main town of Kurram district, thousands participated in a sit-in, while hundreds attended the funerals of the victims of Thursday’s attack.

The latest violence drew condemnation from officials and human rights groups.

The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) urged authorities this month to pay "urgent attention" to the "alarming frequency of clashes" in the region, warning that the situation has escalated to "the proportions of a humanitarian crisis."

‘All available options will be utilised for peace’: CM Gandapur

KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has vowed to utilise all available options to restore peace in valance-hit Kurram district.

He made the remarks while chairing a meeting to discuss the situation in Kurram via a video link. The chief minister said that the incident of armed attack on vehicles was “extremely regrettable and condemnable”. The CM shared the grief of the bereaved families.

During the meeting, the government’s delegation — who visited the tribal elders in the day — presented its initial report to the CM.

“The legitimate demands of the parties must be fulfilled,” the chief minister said, adding that ceasefire was inevitable for heading towards a solution to the conflict.

He urged the tribal elders to cooperate with the government’s delegation and the local administration. The CM said that he himself was monitoring the situation in the area. The government was making efforts to resolve the conflict.