 "How did a land dispute in Pakistan snowball into a deadly Sunni-Shia clash, killing nearly 50")
A land dispute in Pakistan turned into a deadly Sunni-Shia clash – leaving over four dozen dead and 200 injured.
The incident occurred in the northwestern Kurram tribal district – around 220 kilometres from Peshawar – in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on the border of Afghanistan.
The warring tribes on Monday announced a ceasefire with the help of elders.
The restive area has witnessed several clashes and conflicts over the past decades.
But what happened? What do we know about the tribes and the area?
Let’s take a closer look:
What happened?
As per The Times of India, the incident kicked off last week after a property dispute between a Sunni family and a Shia family.
Officials said that heavy clashes began in Boshera village in Upper Kurram district five days ago.
The unrest then spread across villages and settlements in the entire district.
Authorities said 34 of the dead were from Shia tribes, while eight belonged to Sunni tribes.
As per Dawn, the families belong to the Boshehra and Maleekhel tribes.
Both sides used heavy weapons to attack each other.
Sunday night and Monday morning saw the firing between the tribes continue unabated in the Maqbal and Teri Mangal areas of upper Kurram near the Afghan border as well as Para Chamkani in central Kurram and and Balish Khel in lower Kurram, as per The Times of India.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAs per Dawn, Peewar, Tangi, Balishkhel, Khaar Kalay, Maqbal, Kunj Alizai, Para Chamkani, and Karman also witnessed clashes.
Locals said rivals were using heavy and sophisticated weapons, including mortar shells and rocket launchers, against each other.
They said that mortar and rocket shells were also fired on Parachinar and Sadda, the main cities in the Kurram tribal district.
Locals said Sunni tribes were receiving support from their kin in Afghanistan.
This is because the families have relatives on both sides of the Durand Line – the disputed Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
As per The Times of India, the clashes left many villages in the district facing a lack of food and lifesaving medicine as the authorities closed the roads.
An official at the Parachinar hospital told Dawn that at least 12 injured persons were shifted to Peshawar in a ‘precarious condition.’
‘Will settle land dispute’
Officials with the help of tribal elders – an assembly known as a jirga – military leadership, police and district administration have brokered a truce between Shia and Sunni tribes in Boshera, Malikhel and Dandar areas.
“Officials with the help of tribal elders have brokered a truce between the two tribes today,” Nisar Ahmad Khan, the district police officer (DPO), told Arab News. “Police are now busy vacating bunkers and trenches from the warring tribes and taking control of those bunkers.”
Sajid Hussain Turi, a local politician who served as federal minister for overseas Pakistanis in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, told the website that the “priority was to broker a ceasefire first.”
“[In] the second phase, the jirga will settle the land dispute,” Turi added.
The Kashmiriyat quoted Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur as saying that “no one will be allowed to take the law into their hands or disturb the peace of the area.”
All educational institutions and markets were closed, while traffic on main roads remained suspended during the day.
Heavy contingents of police and security forces have been deployed in the affected areas, officials added.
“We have given clear warnings to all those indulging in hostilities to cease fire and desist from escalating the situation. I am confident that it will have an impact,” Kurram deputy commissioner Javedullah Mehsud told Dawn.
As per Dawn, a huge crowd jammed the Hangu highway at three different places in Kohat on Monday to protest the violence.
The Ustarzai policel told Dawn the highway had been blocked in Kahca Pakha, Mohammnadzai and Nusratkhel areas.
Police arrived at the road blockades and held talks with the protesters to open traffic.
A number of religious and political parties also held protests in Parachinar and Islamabad.
A history of violence
As per The Kashmiriyat, the strategically important district has constantly been plagued by corruption and conflict over the years.
Local and federal authorities have struggled to keep the peace as the Shia minority has borne the brunt of the violence.
Kurram district’s Parachinar town is one of the few Shia-dominated areas in Sunni Pakistan.
This isn’t the first time the region has witnessed such clashes.
According to The Times of India, Kurram is currently witnessing eight major disputes – many of them going back to the era before Partition.
As per The Kashmiriyat, an age old dispute between the Gedu Mengal and Pewar tribes saw violence erupt in 2023.
The Murree Accord of 2011 aimed to stop property disputes escalating to engulf the entire district.
However, the non-implementation of the agreement has led to clashes repeatedly breaking out.
Arab News reported that one major clash kicked off in 2007 and continued for four years until a jirga helped end it in 2011.
With inputs from agencies
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