Death toll from tribal clashes in Pakistan's Kurram rises to 9

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 11 : The death toll from the ongoing tribal clashes in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) over a land dispute went up to nine on Monday, Geo News reported.

Last Friday, tribal clashes erupted between two tribes over a land dispute which has killed at least 9 persons and over 50 injured in the last four days.

Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Sajid Hussain Turi also arrived in the tribal district to broker a ceasefire between the warring sides.

"The police, army and tribal elders are trying to reach a ceasefire between the warring tribes in Pewar, Balishkhel and Khar Kallay areas," he told media persons, assuring that the situation would soon return to normal, reported Dawn.

Turi further asserted that no one would be allowed to disrupt peace in the areas and added that all the issues would be resolved through dialogue.

On the first day of the clash, five persons were killed and 30 others injured when armed men belonging to Bohshera and Dandar tribes traded fire over the land dispute.

Subsequently, two more persons were killed and eight others sustained injuries when clashes again erupted between tribes in various areas of the Kurram tribal district on Sunday, Geo News reported.

The injured were taken to the District Headquarters Hospital, Parachinar, and Sadda Hospital, where the condition of three of the injured was stated to be critical.

Kurram deputy commissioner Syed Saiful Islam Shah and district police officer Mohammad Imran said that efforts were underway by the district administration and the security forces in collaboration with the tribal chiefs to secure a ceasefire between the warring tribes, according to Dawn.

A similar incident took place in Darra Adamkhel Kohat in May where 16 people were killed in a bloody clash between two tribes, reported ARY News.

The clashes broke out between Sunikhel and Akhorwal in a dispute regarding the delimitation of coal mines which resulted in the killing of 14 people on the spot.

According to the Kohat Police spokesperson, the dispute between the two tribes, both of whom are part of the hill community of Bulandari, turned violent when they faced each other in the disputed mountain range.

It should be noted that the dispute between the Sunikhel and Akhorwal nations over the demarcation of the Bulandari Hill had been going on for a long time and a Jirga was being held between the two tribes.