November 22, 2024
By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE
A deadly attack on a convoy of passenger vehicles in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa restive district of Kurrum has claimed the lives of at least 39 people including six women, and wounded 39 others, said police sources.
The attack occurred in the Mandori area of Lower Kurram when a convoy of vehicles traveling under security cover from Peshawar to Parachinar came under fire.
پولیس ذرائع کے مطابق خیبر پختونخوا کے ضلع کرم میں گاڑیوں کے قافلے پر فائرنگ سے کم از کم 34 افراد جاں بحق، 19 زخمی۔
فائرنگ کا واقعہ لوئر کرم کے علاقے مندروی میں پیش آیا جب سیکورٹی فورسز کی نگرانی میں گاڑیوں کا قافلہ پاراچنار سے پشاور جارہا تھا۔ جاں بحق ہونے والوں میں چھ… pic.twitter.com/Qvtkp7u008
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) November 21, 2024
Doctors at Mandori’s Basic Health Unit confirmed receiving the dead bodies of 33 victims including six women by evening. Five more bodies and eight injured individuals were taken to the Alizai hospital. Additionally, 39 individuals were wounded and were shifted to hospitals in Tul and Peshawar.
Kurram police said that the 33 people who survived the attack had reached Alizai from Bagan late last night, from where they are heading to Parachinar.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur strongly condemned the heinous attack on innocent civilians, including women and children, by terrorists in Kurram district.
Compensation for victims
In a statement issued by the provincial government in Peshawar, Gandapur directed a delegation, comprising the provincial law minister, relevant MNAs, MPAs, and the chief secretary, to immediately visit Kurram and assess the situation firsthand.
He emphasised the need to reactivate the previous jirga to improve the situation in Kurram. To ensure the safety of highways, the Chief Minister has directed officials to work on establishing a provincial highways police. Gandapur expressed deep sorrow over the loss of innocent lives and offered his condolences to the bereaved families.
He also announced financial assistance for the families of the victims.
PM terms attack an act of barbarism
In a separate statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the concerned authorities to provide the best possible medical treatment to the injured. He ordered law enforcement agencies to apprehend the perpetrators of this heinous crime and bring them to justice.
“The attack on an innocent civilian convoy by enemies of peace is an act of barbarism,” said the Prime Minister. “We will thwart all evil designs of anti-state elements aimed at disrupting peace in our beloved country.”
The perpetrators of this heinous crime will be identified and brought to exemplary justice,” he added. “Such cowardly acts cannot dampen the spirits of the brave Pakistani nation,” the Prime Minister asserted. “Those who shed the blood of innocent civilians are not worthy of being called human beings, let alone Muslims,” he concluded.
Tribal clashes in Kurrum district
Kurrum district has witnessed clashes between rival tribes over a land dispute for decades. Clashes between tribes belonging to Sunni and Shia sects have left over a hundred people dead since August. The Parachinar-Peshawar road has been closed to all types of traffic since the attack on a passenger van convoy in the Konj Alizai area of Upper Kurram on October 12 that resulted in the death of 15 people. All travel is conducted in the form of passenger convoys under police escort due to the security situation in Kurram district.