ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Sunday warned of a clearance operation in the Kurram district, where a shooting at an aid convoy injured a top administration official on Saturday.
Saturday’s gun attack was carried out by unidentified men near Bagan, a tense locality in the district’s center, as Deputy Commissioner (DC) Javedullah Mehsud and other officials led the aid convoy to Parachinar, leaving the top official and four security men injured.
Kurram, a northwestern district of around 600,000 people in KP, has been rocked by tribal and sectarian clashes since November 21, when armed men attacked a convoy of Shia passengers, killing 52 people.
The attack sparked further violence and blockade of a main road connecting Kurram’s main town of Parachinar with the provincial capital of Peshawar, causing medicine, food and fuel shortages in the area, as casualties surged to 136.
On Sunday, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and other provincial officials held a meeting to discuss the law and order situation in Kurram after the attack on DC Mehsud and the delivery of aid goods to Kurram.
“If those involved in the January 4 attack are not handed over to the government, strict action will be taken at the scene of the incident,” the provincial government said in a statement late Sunday.
“In case of further violation/non-cooperation in handing over the culprits, population of the incident site will be temporarily shifted, if required for the clearance operation.”
Saturday’s gun attack came days after a grand jirga, or council of political and tribal elders formed by the KP provincial government, brokered a peace agreement between the warring Shia and Sunni tribes, following weeks of efforts.
The KP government said it had asked the jirga members, who had signed the peace agreement, to hand over the perpetrators of the January 4 attack and their supporters.
“If law and order is not maintained, miscreants and those who disturb the peace will be dealt with iron hands,” it said.
“Section 144 will be imposed in Kurram district and there will be curfew on the roads during the movement of convoys. Anyone carrying weapons will be considered a terrorist. Head money will be announced for various militants.”
On Wednesday, warring Shia and Sunni tribes had agreed on the demolition of bunkers and the handover of heavy weapons to the authorities within two weeks as part of the peace agreement.
Any party that launches an attack after the signing of the deal will be considered a “terrorist” and action will be taken against it. A fine of Rs10 million ($35,933) will be imposed on those who violate the terms of the deal by using weapons against each other, according to the peace agreement.
Land disputes in the volatile district will be settled on a priority basis with the cooperation of local tribes and the district administration. Opening of banned outfits’ offices will be prohibited in the district, while social media accounts spreading hate will be discouraged via collective efforts backed by the government.
Separately on Sunday, police lodged a case against five people, all of whom were said to be residents of Bagan, for their involvement in the Jan. 4 attack on the aid convoy, which comprised 17 trucks that carried tents, blankets, medical kits, tarpaulins, solar lamps and sleeping bags.
Provincial authorities have previously air-dropped relief goods and airlifted ailing and injured people from Kurram to Peshawar via helicopters.
