At least 38 people, including women, were killed when unidentified gunmen sprayed bullets at Peshawar-bound passenger vans in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district on Thursday, officials said. The van was coming from Parachinar.

“Two separate convoys of Shia people… were targeted by the terrorists in the Kurram district,” Javedullah 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 in an earlier statement, adding that most of the victims were Shia.

Tribes have been engaged in intermittent fighting for several months in Kurram.

In October, at least 16 people, including three women and two children, were killed in a sectarian clash in the district.

Previous clashes in July and September killed dozens of people and ended only after a jirga, or tribal council, called a ceasefire.

Condemnations

President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack and offered his condolences to the bereaved of the deceased.

“Attacking innocent passengers is a cowardly and inhumane act,” he was quoted as saying in a post on X by PPP’s media cell.

Those responsible for the incident should be punished, the president said and urged that timely medical aid be provided to the injured.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also called for best medical facilities for the people injured in the attack. In a statement, he issued a directive to identify the attackers and punish them.

“The enemies of the peace of the country attacked the convoy of innocent citizens which is tantamount to brutality. All attempts of anti-national elements to destroy the peace of the beloved country will be thwarted,” the premier said

“The evil elements involved in the incident will be identified and punished accordingly. Saboteurs cannot demoralise the brave Pakistani nation by such cowardly actions,” he said.

KP CM Gandapur wants delegation to visit Kurram

KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur took strict notice of the incident and also condemned it.

He directed a delegation comprising the chief secretary, provincial law minister and the area’s MNA and MPA to visit Kurram “immediately and personally assess” the conditions there and submit a report.

The chief minister also called for the area’s jirga to be reactivated to improve the situation in Kurram.

“Work should be done to establish a provincial highways police to secure all highways in the province,” CM Gandapur said, “the provincial government, police and all relevant institutions are making serious efforts to improve the law and order situation in the area,” he said.

While announcing financial assistance for the families of those killed in the attack, CM Gandapur said targeting citizens was “extremely regrettable and condemnable”.

“The elements involved in the incident cannot escape the clutches of the law,” he vowed.