Protests sweep the country as Kurram toll rises to 43
Javed Hussain
• Senior official describes situation in region as ‘extremely tense’
• Protesters slam govt inability to protect citizens
KURRAM: The death toll from Thursday’s attack on passenger vehicles in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district area rose to 43, authorities said on Friday as they imposed a curfew and suspended mobile service in the remote mountainous district.
Businesses, educational institutions and markets remained closed across Parachinar and surrounding areas in Kurram, a district near the Afghanistan border with a history of sectarian violence
Thousands of people took to the streets in various cities on Friday.
The convoy of around 200 vehicles, carrying Shia passengers between Peshawar and Parachinar, came under heavy gunfire in the densely populated Bagan town.
According to witnesses, the vehicles were ambushed from four sides. Muhammad, a 14-year-old survivor, told Dawn that the assault lasted around 30 minutes.
Authorities said that the victims included seven women and three children, with 16 others injured — 11 of whom are in critical condition.
Sajid Kazmi, a leader of Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), condemned the attack, accusing law enforcement agencies of negligence. He alleged that despite the convoy being escorted by police from Thal to Alizai, the forces failed to protect passengers. Mr Kazmi demanded the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate the massacre.
Kurram Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mehsud confirmed the death toll, adding that efforts were underway to restore normalcy. He told Dawn that a grand jirga would be convened to find a viable solution to the unrest.
Javed Hussain
Published November 23, 2024
DAWN
People mourn over the graves of relatives who were killed after gunmen opened fire on a convoy of passenger vehicles, in the Shalozan area of Kurram district, on Friday.—Reuters
• Curfew imposed, mobile services suspended; schools, markets remain shut across Parachinar
• Curfew imposed, mobile services suspended; schools, markets remain shut across Parachinar
• Senior official describes situation in region as ‘extremely tense’
• Protesters slam govt inability to protect citizens
KURRAM: The death toll from Thursday’s attack on passenger vehicles in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district area rose to 43, authorities said on Friday as they imposed a curfew and suspended mobile service in the remote mountainous district.
Businesses, educational institutions and markets remained closed across Parachinar and surrounding areas in Kurram, a district near the Afghanistan border with a history of sectarian violence
Thousands of people took to the streets in various cities on Friday.
The convoy of around 200 vehicles, carrying Shia passengers between Peshawar and Parachinar, came under heavy gunfire in the densely populated Bagan town.
According to witnesses, the vehicles were ambushed from four sides. Muhammad, a 14-year-old survivor, told Dawn that the assault lasted around 30 minutes.
Authorities said that the victims included seven women and three children, with 16 others injured — 11 of whom are in critical condition.
Sajid Kazmi, a leader of Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), condemned the attack, accusing law enforcement agencies of negligence. He alleged that despite the convoy being escorted by police from Thal to Alizai, the forces failed to protect passengers. Mr Kazmi demanded the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate the massacre.
Kurram Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mehsud confirmed the death toll, adding that efforts were underway to restore normalcy. He told Dawn that a grand jirga would be convened to find a viable solution to the unrest.
PROTESTERS hold placards during a demonstration against the terrorist attack in Parachinar outside the Peshawar Press Club on Friday.—PPI
Protests and funerals
The attack has sparked outrage across the district, with demonstrations held in various locations, including outside the Parachinar Press Club. Thousands of people participated in a sit-in in Parachinar, where protesters criticised the government’s failure to protect civilians.
Funerals for the victims, including journalist Janan Hussain, a member of the Parachinar Press Club, were held in their respective villages before Friday prayers. Mr Hussain had recently returned from Malaysia.
An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AFP news agency that mobile signals across the district had been shut down, describing the situation as “extremely tense”.
“A curfew has been imposed on the main road connecting Upper and Lower Kurram, and the bazaar remains completely closed, with all traffic suspended,” the official said. After the funerals, the youth gathered, chanted slogans against the government and marched toward a nearby security checkpoint, resident Muhammad Ali told the news agency.
A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that “some broke CCTV cameras at the checkpoint… burned tyres and caused damage to property”, before the situation de-escalated.
Mourners pray for victims of a gun attack on passenger vehicles in KP’s Kurram District that killed more than 40, outside the Parachinar Press Club on November 22. — via author
Several hundred people also demonstrated in Lahore, according to AFP.
“We are tired of counting the bodies. How long will this bloodshed continue?” Khanum Nida Jafri, a 50-year-old religious scholar protesting, said. “We are demanding peace for our children and women. Are we asking too much?”
Hundreds also demonstrated in Karachi.
Sectarian violence
Thursday’s ambush is the latest in a series of sectarian clashes between Sunni and Shia tribes in Kurram. Previous clashes in July and September claimed dozens of lives and were resolved only after tribal councils brokered ceasefires.
The latest violence drew condemnation from officials and human rights groups. “The frequency of such incidents confirms the failure of the federal and provincial governments to protect the security of ordinary citizens,” the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in a statement.
“We demand immediate and decisive steps from both governments to permanently break this cycle of violence,” it said.
‘She died in my arms’
Danish Turi, a survivor of the deadly ambush, described the attack as “horrifying”. He witnessed a vehicle ahead of his being struck by a rocket launcher, leaving the passengers and the vehicle in ruins, according to a BBC Urdu report.
Mr Turi, the chairman of Parachinar Youth Council, recounted the chilling moments when gunfire erupted on the road connecting Peshawar to Parachinar. Travelling in a passenger coach with mostly women onboard, he was seated in the front when the attackers struck.
“When we reached the Mandori area, the convoy from Peshawar to Parachinar arrived, and within moments, heavy firing started,” Mr Turi recalled, according to the report.
He and several other passengers sought refuge in a nearby stream surrounded by dense trees. “I was carrying an eight-year-old girl, trying to move her to safety when a bullet hit her. She died in my arms.”
Mr Turi said the “vehicle in front of us, a Fielder car, was hit by a rocket, causing a massive explosion. We were terrified, thinking any moment could be our last.”
He helped evacuate around 10 to 12 women to safety. “But I couldn’t save the innocent girl who passed away in my arms.”
Journalist’s life cut short
The family of Janan Hussain, a journalist from Parachinar who was among the victims, went through the anguish of searching for him throughout the day, only to receive his body late at night.
Mr Hussain had recently returned from a trip to Malaysia. Known for his charitable work with his organisation, Mr Hussain was also working on community-focused journalism.
His cousin, Rizwan Hussain, shared how Janan had informed his wife during the journey that he was on his way home. “We were hopeful he was safe, but then his body arrived at 11pm, plunging the family into grief.”
Ali Afzal, a fellow journalist, recalled that Janan Hussain “often talked about how far the world has progressed while we remain entangled in conflicts”.
Mr Afzal told BBC Urdu that Janan had sent him a video from Malaysia with beautiful views saying that people lived there “like they were in a paradise”. “We will get heaven only after death,” Janan said in the video.
The attack also claimed the life of Gulfam Hussain, a taxi driver who had travelled to Peshawar to meet acquaintances. A father of five young children, Mr Hussain had planned to return to Parachinar with the convoy.
“We learned in the evening that Gulfam was among those injured in the attack. He later succumbed to his wounds,” said his uncle, Ali Ghulam.
With input from agencies
Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2024
Protests and funerals
The attack has sparked outrage across the district, with demonstrations held in various locations, including outside the Parachinar Press Club. Thousands of people participated in a sit-in in Parachinar, where protesters criticised the government’s failure to protect civilians.
Funerals for the victims, including journalist Janan Hussain, a member of the Parachinar Press Club, were held in their respective villages before Friday prayers. Mr Hussain had recently returned from Malaysia.
An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AFP news agency that mobile signals across the district had been shut down, describing the situation as “extremely tense”.
“A curfew has been imposed on the main road connecting Upper and Lower Kurram, and the bazaar remains completely closed, with all traffic suspended,” the official said. After the funerals, the youth gathered, chanted slogans against the government and marched toward a nearby security checkpoint, resident Muhammad Ali told the news agency.
A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that “some broke CCTV cameras at the checkpoint… burned tyres and caused damage to property”, before the situation de-escalated.
Mourners pray for victims of a gun attack on passenger vehicles in KP’s Kurram District that killed more than 40, outside the Parachinar Press Club on November 22. — via authorSeveral hundred people also demonstrated in Lahore, according to AFP.
“We are tired of counting the bodies. How long will this bloodshed continue?” Khanum Nida Jafri, a 50-year-old religious scholar protesting, said. “We are demanding peace for our children and women. Are we asking too much?”
Hundreds also demonstrated in Karachi.
Sectarian violence
Thursday’s ambush is the latest in a series of sectarian clashes between Sunni and Shia tribes in Kurram. Previous clashes in July and September claimed dozens of lives and were resolved only after tribal councils brokered ceasefires.
The latest violence drew condemnation from officials and human rights groups. “The frequency of such incidents confirms the failure of the federal and provincial governments to protect the security of ordinary citizens,” the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in a statement.
“We demand immediate and decisive steps from both governments to permanently break this cycle of violence,” it said.
‘She died in my arms’
Danish Turi, a survivor of the deadly ambush, described the attack as “horrifying”. He witnessed a vehicle ahead of his being struck by a rocket launcher, leaving the passengers and the vehicle in ruins, according to a BBC Urdu report.
Mr Turi, the chairman of Parachinar Youth Council, recounted the chilling moments when gunfire erupted on the road connecting Peshawar to Parachinar. Travelling in a passenger coach with mostly women onboard, he was seated in the front when the attackers struck.
“When we reached the Mandori area, the convoy from Peshawar to Parachinar arrived, and within moments, heavy firing started,” Mr Turi recalled, according to the report.
He and several other passengers sought refuge in a nearby stream surrounded by dense trees. “I was carrying an eight-year-old girl, trying to move her to safety when a bullet hit her. She died in my arms.”
Mr Turi said the “vehicle in front of us, a Fielder car, was hit by a rocket, causing a massive explosion. We were terrified, thinking any moment could be our last.”
He helped evacuate around 10 to 12 women to safety. “But I couldn’t save the innocent girl who passed away in my arms.”
Journalist’s life cut short
The family of Janan Hussain, a journalist from Parachinar who was among the victims, went through the anguish of searching for him throughout the day, only to receive his body late at night.
Mr Hussain had recently returned from a trip to Malaysia. Known for his charitable work with his organisation, Mr Hussain was also working on community-focused journalism.
His cousin, Rizwan Hussain, shared how Janan had informed his wife during the journey that he was on his way home. “We were hopeful he was safe, but then his body arrived at 11pm, plunging the family into grief.”
Ali Afzal, a fellow journalist, recalled that Janan Hussain “often talked about how far the world has progressed while we remain entangled in conflicts”.
Mr Afzal told BBC Urdu that Janan had sent him a video from Malaysia with beautiful views saying that people lived there “like they were in a paradise”. “We will get heaven only after death,” Janan said in the video.
The attack also claimed the life of Gulfam Hussain, a taxi driver who had travelled to Peshawar to meet acquaintances. A father of five young children, Mr Hussain had planned to return to Parachinar with the convoy.
“We learned in the evening that Gulfam was among those injured in the attack. He later succumbed to his wounds,” said his uncle, Ali Ghulam.
With input from agencies
Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2024
Kurram atrocity
DAWN
Editorial
WITH the situation in KP’s Kurram tribal district already volatile for the past several months, the murderous violence witnessed on Thursday has not come as a surprise.
At least 38 people were killed when a convoy of vehicles was attacked in an act of terrorism in Lower Kurram, in what is one of the biggest single mass-casualty attacks this year. The convoys consisted mostly of members of the Shia community. In this part of KP, militancy, tribal disputes and sectarianism, which has claimed both Shia and Sunni lives, have created a powder keg.
Sadly, the state has ignored the situation for years, or made only half-hearted efforts to address it. This year, a land dispute between two tribes metastasised into something uglier, with over 80 people killed since July, many of them while travelling by road. The people of Kurram took to the streets two weeks ago, demanding peace and safety on the roads. As yesterday’s atrocity showed, the state was unable to provide these.
Unfortunately, the centre and KP government are both so embroiled in politicking that the security situation of Kurram and other parts of the province fails to attract their attention. Statements are issued, promises are made, but the people of KP are left to fend for themselves as bloodthirsty terrorists ravage the province. Security institutions have also failed to flush out militants threatening peace in KP.
Kurram is particularly sensitive, due mainly to its sectarian dynamics and proximity to Afghanistan, in addition to the presence of militant groups and heavy arms. Yet the state has been unable to deweaponise the area, or judiciously resolve the tribal disputes that can spiral into communal bloodletting.
It would be a monumental mistake for the state to continue ignoring the violence in Kurram. Instability can easily spread to the adjoining districts if not contained, and vested interests can exploit sectarian differences in the region to create communal discord across Pakistan. The first duty of the state is to track down and punish the elements responsible for the latest attack. It cannot be business as usual after this brutal episode, and all state institutions must come up with solid plans to protect Kurram’s people, and other vulnerable populations in KP.
A multiparty conference to discuss law and order in KP has been scheduled for next month. Considering the latest outrage, this conclave should be held earlier. Moreover, along with state functionaries, the ulema and tribal elders must also work to defuse the situation and ensure a retaliatory spiral of violence does not ensue.
The state has dithered over Kurram’s security long enough. It is time to provide justice to the victims of violence, while terrorists and their facilitators must be tracked down and made to answer before the law.
Published in Dawn, November 22th, 2024
Editorial
November 22, 2024
WITH the situation in KP’s Kurram tribal district already volatile for the past several months, the murderous violence witnessed on Thursday has not come as a surprise.
At least 38 people were killed when a convoy of vehicles was attacked in an act of terrorism in Lower Kurram, in what is one of the biggest single mass-casualty attacks this year. The convoys consisted mostly of members of the Shia community. In this part of KP, militancy, tribal disputes and sectarianism, which has claimed both Shia and Sunni lives, have created a powder keg.
Sadly, the state has ignored the situation for years, or made only half-hearted efforts to address it. This year, a land dispute between two tribes metastasised into something uglier, with over 80 people killed since July, many of them while travelling by road. The people of Kurram took to the streets two weeks ago, demanding peace and safety on the roads. As yesterday’s atrocity showed, the state was unable to provide these.
Unfortunately, the centre and KP government are both so embroiled in politicking that the security situation of Kurram and other parts of the province fails to attract their attention. Statements are issued, promises are made, but the people of KP are left to fend for themselves as bloodthirsty terrorists ravage the province. Security institutions have also failed to flush out militants threatening peace in KP.
Kurram is particularly sensitive, due mainly to its sectarian dynamics and proximity to Afghanistan, in addition to the presence of militant groups and heavy arms. Yet the state has been unable to deweaponise the area, or judiciously resolve the tribal disputes that can spiral into communal bloodletting.
It would be a monumental mistake for the state to continue ignoring the violence in Kurram. Instability can easily spread to the adjoining districts if not contained, and vested interests can exploit sectarian differences in the region to create communal discord across Pakistan. The first duty of the state is to track down and punish the elements responsible for the latest attack. It cannot be business as usual after this brutal episode, and all state institutions must come up with solid plans to protect Kurram’s people, and other vulnerable populations in KP.
A multiparty conference to discuss law and order in KP has been scheduled for next month. Considering the latest outrage, this conclave should be held earlier. Moreover, along with state functionaries, the ulema and tribal elders must also work to defuse the situation and ensure a retaliatory spiral of violence does not ensue.
The state has dithered over Kurram’s security long enough. It is time to provide justice to the victims of violence, while terrorists and their facilitators must be tracked down and made to answer before the law.
Published in Dawn, November 22th, 2024
Killing fields
Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
November 22, 2024
DAWN
WHILE the PTI-run government in KP continues to depict itself as the last remaining bastion of democracy in the country, pitched against the governments at the centre and other federating units, many parts of the province have once again become killing fields.
Target killers roam free in Bannu, Waziristan and other Pakhtun regions. Attacks against political workers, security personnel and ordinary civilians have become an almost daily affair. Religiously inspired militants sometimes acknowledge responsibility, but there is an eye-catching number of perpetrators in the now familiar category of ‘unknowns’.
Bloodletting in Kurram district reached unprecedented proportions a couple of weeks ago as local property disputes were instrumentalised by militant elements to stoke sectarian tensions at will. And yesterday, a bus of civilians was fired upon near Parachinar resulting in over 30 deaths.
In such cases, neither the chief minister of KP nor the prime and interior minister at the centre provide the general public with any meaningful information let alone chart out a strategy to deal with what, by any account, is a situation spiralling completely out of control.
There are important organic factors in the re-emergence of militants.
All we get are tired condemnations of ‘terrorism’, with none of our civilian political leaders ever saying openly that the resurgence of militancy might have had to do with the state’s previous backing of the Taliban in Kabul.
Neither is anyone willing to antagonise any of Pakistan’s big external patrons, namely the US, Gulf kingdoms and China, all of whom are part of the geopolitical games that underlie both current and previous waves of violence in Pakhtun regions
There are also important organic factors in the re-emergence of the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups. They are entrenched economic players in border trade, or what is routinely called smuggling. They extort money from transporters and shop owners in many of the Pakhtun tribal districts. I noted above that they take advantage of property disputes, particularly over agricultural land. Finally, these players have also developed big stakes in the extraction of a host of natural resources, including pine nuts, timber, mineral deposits, etc.
Geopolitical wranglings amongst all the big players in this sordid story also revolve around the desire to either exclusively control economic flows, or to at the very least ensure that competitors do not establish monopolies in trade, mining, construction and other sectors.
In Pakistan we are used to hearing that the only thing that matters is national security, but anyone with even cursory knowledge of the current violence in KP understands that this is just a handy catchphrase for a power game that is largely about social control and economic resources.
The contraband trade across the Pak-Afghan and Pak-Iran borders implicates states, militants, and a host of other economic players. Simply decrying ‘smuggling’ and putting up a fence here and there protects the big profiteers while destroying the livelihoods of the large number of small operators reliant on this trade. Political violence is then both cause and consequence of the deliberate reduction of this complex political economy to ‘national security’.
The PML-N and PPP have shown that they will do everything to appease those higher above them in the political food chain, both at home and abroad, so they are not about to bell the cat. But if the anti-establishment posture of the PTI — and the otherwise firebrand KP chief minister — is more than just a façade, we should expect more critical reflection on the epidemic of violence in Pakhtun tribal and other districts. Indeed, the chief minister himself hails from D.I. Khan, which is at the crossroads of so many recent attacks.
The underlying problem is the militarised and imperialised structure of power in this country. The power of the religious right — and militant groups especially — is a direct offshoot of this structure. The somewhat absurd spectacle of one federating unit’s official state apparatus engaging in mass protests against the centre should not distract us from the fact that the prevailing structure of power is floundering badly.
An anti-establishment politics is not about displacing those currently at the helm so that the next player can lurch towards yet another crisis of what is fundamentally an anti-people and anti-nature system.
Such a politics must be based on a programme for lasting peace, centred on economic redistribution, dismantling the establishment-centric political order, and a non-aligned foreign policy that privileges mutual cooperation with our neighbours.
The writer teaches at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
Published in Dawn, November 22th, 2024
Target killers roam free in Bannu, Waziristan and other Pakhtun regions. Attacks against political workers, security personnel and ordinary civilians have become an almost daily affair. Religiously inspired militants sometimes acknowledge responsibility, but there is an eye-catching number of perpetrators in the now familiar category of ‘unknowns’.
Bloodletting in Kurram district reached unprecedented proportions a couple of weeks ago as local property disputes were instrumentalised by militant elements to stoke sectarian tensions at will. And yesterday, a bus of civilians was fired upon near Parachinar resulting in over 30 deaths.
In such cases, neither the chief minister of KP nor the prime and interior minister at the centre provide the general public with any meaningful information let alone chart out a strategy to deal with what, by any account, is a situation spiralling completely out of control.
There are important organic factors in the re-emergence of militants.
All we get are tired condemnations of ‘terrorism’, with none of our civilian political leaders ever saying openly that the resurgence of militancy might have had to do with the state’s previous backing of the Taliban in Kabul.
Neither is anyone willing to antagonise any of Pakistan’s big external patrons, namely the US, Gulf kingdoms and China, all of whom are part of the geopolitical games that underlie both current and previous waves of violence in Pakhtun regions
There are also important organic factors in the re-emergence of the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups. They are entrenched economic players in border trade, or what is routinely called smuggling. They extort money from transporters and shop owners in many of the Pakhtun tribal districts. I noted above that they take advantage of property disputes, particularly over agricultural land. Finally, these players have also developed big stakes in the extraction of a host of natural resources, including pine nuts, timber, mineral deposits, etc.
Geopolitical wranglings amongst all the big players in this sordid story also revolve around the desire to either exclusively control economic flows, or to at the very least ensure that competitors do not establish monopolies in trade, mining, construction and other sectors.
In Pakistan we are used to hearing that the only thing that matters is national security, but anyone with even cursory knowledge of the current violence in KP understands that this is just a handy catchphrase for a power game that is largely about social control and economic resources.
The contraband trade across the Pak-Afghan and Pak-Iran borders implicates states, militants, and a host of other economic players. Simply decrying ‘smuggling’ and putting up a fence here and there protects the big profiteers while destroying the livelihoods of the large number of small operators reliant on this trade. Political violence is then both cause and consequence of the deliberate reduction of this complex political economy to ‘national security’.
The PML-N and PPP have shown that they will do everything to appease those higher above them in the political food chain, both at home and abroad, so they are not about to bell the cat. But if the anti-establishment posture of the PTI — and the otherwise firebrand KP chief minister — is more than just a façade, we should expect more critical reflection on the epidemic of violence in Pakhtun tribal and other districts. Indeed, the chief minister himself hails from D.I. Khan, which is at the crossroads of so many recent attacks.
The underlying problem is the militarised and imperialised structure of power in this country. The power of the religious right — and militant groups especially — is a direct offshoot of this structure. The somewhat absurd spectacle of one federating unit’s official state apparatus engaging in mass protests against the centre should not distract us from the fact that the prevailing structure of power is floundering badly.
An anti-establishment politics is not about displacing those currently at the helm so that the next player can lurch towards yet another crisis of what is fundamentally an anti-people and anti-nature system.
Such a politics must be based on a programme for lasting peace, centred on economic redistribution, dismantling the establishment-centric political order, and a non-aligned foreign policy that privileges mutual cooperation with our neighbours.
The writer teaches at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
Published in Dawn, November 22th, 2024
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