ISLAMABAD: Authorities said on Thursday that over 40 people were killed including women and children while more than 30 were injured in a horrific attack on a passengers’ convoy going to Peshawar near Parachinar.
The DHO Upper Kurram, Dr Qaiser Abbas, confirmed via telephone that some 42 passengers have lost their lives as a result of firing including seven women and a nine-year-old girl, and over 30 others were injured so far. The bodies of 38 deceased have been moved to DHQ Parachinar from Alizai, said Abbas.
President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and others strongly condemned attack on passengers’ convoy.
At least 38 people killed in gun attack on passenger vans in KP’s Kurram District
Dr Abbas said that more than eight people are critically injured. Emergency has been declared in DHQ hospital Parachinar and Alizai, he added.
Officials said the incident took place when unidentified gunmen opened indiscriminate fire on passenger vehicles, traveling in a security forces convoy from Parachinar to Peshawar near area of Charkhel and Dad Qamar falling in the jurisdiction of Lower Kurram.
According to police and hospital sources, the convoy of nearly 200 vehicles was traveling between Parachinar and Peshawar when it came under attack. Among the injured, 12, including two women, were shifted to CMH Thall while 16 others were taken to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Alizai.
Local tribal elders from the Turi and Bangash tribes expressed concern over the safety of stranded passengers still in the area. Police said that motive behind the gun attack was unknown and an investigation has been started.
The Kurram administration and local tribes last week have agreed to reopen Parachinar-Tal Hangu Road on alternate days every week. Over two weeks ago, more than 100,000 people participated in a peaceful march from Parachinar to Peshawar and Islamabad, demanding secure travel arrangements.
AFP adds: Gunmen killed at least 40 people in two attacks in the Uchat area of Lower Kurram on Thursday, officials told AFP, part of a sectarian conflict that has claimed dozens of lives in recent months.
Sectarian clashes have seen hundreds of people killed over the years in the Kurram district, formerly a semi-autonomous area.
Thursday’s attacks targeted two separate convoys of Shias travelling in Kurram, Javed ullah Mehsud, a senior administration official, told AFP.
“The death toll has now risen to 38, with 11 others injured in both attacks,” he said, revising an earlier toll.
“Initial reports confirm that the victims include six women, several children, and police officers,” he added.
“Approximately 10 attackers were involved in both incidents, firing indiscriminately from both sides of the road.”
A police officer confirmed the latest toll, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
“Both convoys consisted of around 40 vehicles travelling under police escort,” he told AFP.
Mehsud said that “women and children sought refuge in local houses, and we are currently searching for (the attackers) in the area.”
“Initial reports suggest it was the same sectarian issue that has plagued the region for months,” he said, adding that most of the victims were Shia.
Ajmeer Hussain, 28, was among those attacked and taken to a local hospital for treatment.
“Gunfire suddenly erupted and I started reciting my prayers, thinking these were my final moments,” Ajmeer Hussain, a 28-year-old victim being treated at a local hospital, told AFP.
“I laid down at the feet of the two passengers sitting next to me. Both of them were struck by multiple bullets and died instantly,” he added.
“The shooting lasted for about five minutes.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the latest attacks, saying in a statement that “the enemies of peace in the country have attacked a convoy of innocent citizens, an act that amounts to sheer brutality”.
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.” “The fact that local rival groups clearly have access to heavy weaponry indicates that the state has been unable to control the flow of arms into the region,” HRCP said in a statement.
“The protracted trauma and violence… the residents have been subjected for over a year must not become the new normal,” it added.
Thursday’s attacks comes just days after at least 20 soldiers were martyured in separate incidents in the province.
Last month, at least 16 people, including three women and two children, were killed in a sectarian clash in the district.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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