October 28, 2024
By Adnan Haider
PARACHINAR
The closure of the Thall-Parachinar road for the past 17 days has severely disrupted life in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district. Over 800,000 residents of Kurram are effectively cut off from the rest of the province, leading to acute shortages of fuel, food, and medicines, and a humanitarian crisis has emerged. It is the only highway that connects Parachinar to Peshawar.
According to police and hospital sources, the highway closure has halted the transfer of critically ill patients to Peshawar for treatment. Eleven people, including eight children, have died during this period due to lack of adequate medical care. Dr Mir Hassan Jan, the Medical Superintendent of Parachinar Hospital, confirmed the deaths of six children admitted to the hospital.
“We request the government to facilitate the shifting of some critical patients—especially children—for further treatment to hospitals in Peshawar,” Dr Jan told Voicepk.net. The prolonged closure of the highway had put a strain on hospital supplies, including oxygen supply and drugs. “Presently, the hospital had adequate medicines and oxygen supply for routine operations and treatment,” he added.
The cutoff of land routes for two weeks has led to a depletion of fuel, food, and medicines in Parachinar, Bushera, villages along the Pak-Afghan border, and other areas. Local trader Nazir Ahmed said that while attempts were made to deliver supplies to Parachinar, a truck carrying flour was looted in the Charkhel area of Lower Kurram. Traders have run out of supplies, and their businesses are precarious.
“The responsibility of keeping the highway secure and safe lies with the government, which has done nothing to reopen the highway for the last 17 days,” Ahmed said. The traders said if the government failed to take action against the looting of the truck they would be forced to go on strike throughout the district.
“Fuel pump stations in Parachinar are shut for the last 10 days as oil tankers are unable to reach the city due to the road blockade,” Hidayat Ali, a resident, said. Due to the unavailability of petrol and diesel, educational institutions in Upper Kurram have been closed for three days, according to the All Teachers Association. 4G internet services have also been suspended since September 27 due to tribal clashes, further disrupting educational activities. “The ongoing tribal clashes are negatively impacting students,” teacher Tanveer Hussain said. Most students are staying in their homes as they are unable to find transportation to go to their schools due to the fuel shortage,” Hussain added.
“Due to the suspension of the 4G internet service, many residents abroad are unable to contact their families,” Shahid Hussain, a resident, told Voicepk.net. The internet service disruption has affected many people operating online businesses from Parachinar, he added.
The situation in Kurram district has been tense for the past three months, with over 100 people killed in tribal clashes over land disputes. Local social leaders say the government has not shown any serious interest in resolving this long-standing issue, and a Gaza-like humanitarian crisis has emerged in the Kurram district. “The government has chosen to do nothing to control tribal clashes in the district,” said Syed Tajammul Hussaini, head of Tehreek-e-Hussainia. He said that if the government did not show seriousness in ending the road blockade this would lead to further escalation of violence in the district.
Youth activist Mir Afzal Turi said the government that claims to be a nuclear power has miserably failed to restore its writ in the district. “The government’s failure to end the highway blockade is causing a humanitarian crisis similar to Gaza in the Kurram district,” he said.
The Parachinar-Peshawar highway has been closed since October 12 after a convoy was attacked, killing 15 people. The over 800,000 residents of Kurram have been trapped in a cycle of violence and tension for decades. Prolonged government apathy has turned a tribal dispute into a tragedy.