The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government has launched a helicopter service to alleviate the transportation difficulties faced by residents of Kurram due to ongoing tensions in the region.

A statement released by the Chief Minister’s Press Secretary announced the initiative, citing Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s direct instructions in response to the crisis.

The statement detailed the helicopter operations, revealing that on the previous day, a provincial MI-17 helicopter completed two flights between Peshawar and Kurram Agency, transporting 53 individuals – including 14 patients – from Parachinar to Peshawar.

Today’s operations involved three flights. The first transported 16 people, including jirga members and government officials, to Parachinar. The second flight moved 27 individuals from Parachinar to Tal. A third flight is planned to transport individuals stranded in Tal back to Parachinar, bringing the total number of flights for the day to five and the total number of people transported to over 100.

In addition to transporting people, the helicopter service is also playing a crucial role in delivering essential medicines to the affected region. The statement highlighted that 1850 kilograms of medicine, valued at Rs12 million, were delivered to Parachinar from Peshawar yesterday. A total of seven helicopter flights have been dedicated to delivering medicine, with a combined value of over 60 million rupees.

Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur expressed deep concern for the difficulties faced by the people of Kurram Agency. He emphasized the provincial government’s commitment to utilizing all available resources to mitigate these challenges and underscored the government’s serious efforts to achieve lasting peace and sustainable solutions to the problems in Kurram Agency.