Anyone who disrupts peace and takes up arms would be treated like a terrorist, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said on Saturday, as the provincial government has requested military deployment to ensure stability in the region.

“The fate of terrorists is hell, declaring. Anyone who takes up arms will be treated as a terrorist and their fate will be that of a terrorist,” he said while addressing a grand jirga during his visit to Kohat. It was focused on the Kurram situation.

Clashes erupted in the Kurram district on November 22, following an attack on a passenger convoy on November 21 that resulted in the deaths of 45 people, including women and children.

That sparked retaliatory attacks against the other community residents and there have been pitched battles between armed groups from both sides.

Armed men have engaged in a tribal and sectarian rivalry for decades over a land dispute in the Kurram district near the Afghanistan border.

Fresh clashes in Kurram killed at least 80 people, with over 150 more injured. Tribal elders said on Saturday that a ceasefire at two locations in lower Kurram was reached between the two groups, however, firing was reported in upper Kurram’s two areas.

Gandapur noted that the military, police, and administration were making coordinated efforts to establish lasting peace in the area. The provincial chief minister also directed officials to dismantle all established fortifications without discrimination.

Gandapur urged the local community to identify those disrupting peace in the area. He announced that the grand jirga would remain in place until complete peace is restored and assured that the provincial government would provide all possible support.

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He further stated that despite political differences between the federal and provincial governments, the federal government should provide Frontier Corps platoons to assist the province in maintaining peace.

The KP chief minister instructed the administration to collect heavy weaponry from the local population and called on tribal elders to play their part in eliminating the atmosphere of hatred between conflicting parties.

He also emphasised that funds for temporarily displaced individuals in the area should be released on a priority basis, assuring that the provincial government would ensure their dignified return.