The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa apex committee decided on Friday to dismantle all bunkers in the Kurram district and collect heavy weapons to restore peace as tribal clashes claimed several lives and cut off the area to the rest of the province.
“A consensus was reached [during the meeting] to collect arms from both parties involved in the district,” said a communiqué. “Both sides will sign an agreement under the government’s mediation to voluntarily surrender all weapons.”
Clashes that exacerbated last month have killed at least 130 people in the district and left several wounded. The clashes started in the wake of an attack on a convoy that claimed at least 43 lives.
Residents have reported food and medicine shortages in parts of Kurram district, which borders Afghanistan, as the government struggled to end a reignited feud between tribes stemming from decades-old land disputes.
The apex committee meeting was held amid jirga’s efforts for long-term peace in the district. KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur presided over the meeting and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was also present.
Relevant members of the provincial cabinet, the Peshawar corps commander, the chief secretary, the inspector general of police, and senior civil and military officials attended the meeting.
As part of the agreement, both warring parties would provide a plan for the voluntary collection of arms within 15 days. “All heavy weapons must be surrendered to the authorities by February 1. Following this, all bunkers in the area will be demolished.”
It was decided that the ground route to the area would be temporarily opened intermittently on humanitarian grounds. A security mechanism has been put in place to ensure safe travel along the ground route.
Under the plan, the police and Frontier Corps would jointly provide security for convoys in the Kurram district. To address transportation issues, a special air service would be initiated, with both federal and provincial governments supplying helicopters.
Both parties are urged to avoid any violent actions to keep the ground route open; otherwise, the “administration will be compelled to close the route again.”
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Moreover, all social media accounts spreading sectarian hatred in the area would be shut down. Officials briefed on the security situation in Mainteerah and Jani Khel, where there has been a recent increase in terrorist activities. To safeguard lives and property, “temporary relocations may be carried out in certain areas,” and residents are encouraged to cooperate with the government in removing troublemakers.
The communiqué added that the issue was not merely regional but a “serious national concern and no one will be allowed to politicise the sensitive matter.”
Some political leaders’ statements regarding the issue are “regrettable”. It was asserted that both provincial and federal governments, along with all relevant institutions, are on the “same page” regarding this issue. Claims regarding child fatalities in Kurram being misrepresented were also dismissed as lacking any basis in reality.
