Renewed sectarian clashes kill 32 in Pakistan’s northwest

ISLAMABAD: More than 30 people have been killed and dozens injured in renewed clashes between Sunni and Shia Muslim groups in Pakistan’s troubled Kurram tribal district in the northwest.

The sectarian violence follows Thursday’s deadly attack on a convoy of around 200 vehicles in Kurram that killed around 50 people and injured scores of others.

The new clashes erupted soon after funerals for the victims were held in their respective villages on Friday. Adul Nabi Bangash, a local politician in Parachinar, the district headquarters, told TOI that on Friday night a group of Shia Muslims attacked Sunni areas, such as Bagan bazaar, with light and heavy weapons. He revealed that both sides had raised militias soon after Thursday’s incident.

A local administration official said the dead in the latest clashes included 18 Shias and 14 Sunnis. Nearly 50 others were wounded in overnight fighting.

Dr Qaisar Abbas, a district health officer in Kurram, confirmed the casualties and described the condition of nine wounded as serious.

Eyewitnesses said armed men broke into stores, petrol stations, homes and govt buildings in Kurram’s Bagan and Bacha Kot neighbourhoods after Friday prayers. Social media users shared videos and pictures of a burning market with orange flames piercing the night sky. Gunfire can also be heard in the background.

Businesses, educational institutions and markets remained closed across Parachinar and surrounding areas for the second consecutive day on Saturday. Describing the situation as extremely tense, officials said mobile phone signals remain suspended across the district. Internet services, however, have been blocked in the region for several months.

About 150 people have been killed in recent months due to escalating sectarian violence in the mountainous district, which borders Afghanistan on three sides.

Previous clashes in July and Sept, which had killed dozens of people, ended only after a council of elders called for a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, thousands of people participated in a sit-in in Parachinar, where protesters criticised govt’s failure to protect civilians. Shop owners in the region had announced a three-day strike on Friday to protest against the attack while locals described an atmosphere of fear across the district.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came a week after authorities had reopened a key highway in the region that had been closed for months following deadly clashes. Speculation also surrounds the involvement of the banned terrorist group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has recently been active in the lower part of Kurram. But govt officials attributed the incident to a land dispute.