Another aid convoy reaches Kurram – Pakistan

KURRAM: A convoy of over seventy vehicles carrying essential supplies and medicines reached Kurram district on Friday, the local administration has confirmed.

Roads leading to Kurram district remained closed for months following an attack on a convoy and subsequent clashes late last year.

The closure of roads for around four months created an acute shortage of food and medical supplies in the area.

The Thall-Parachinar road, which is the only access route to Upper Kurram, has witnessed multiple attacks on aid convoys in Lower Kurram.

The convoy that arrived from Thall, Hangu, on Friday was the fifth since a government-brokered ceasefire agreement resu­lted in a precarious lull in hostilities.

The vehicles were carrying fruit, vegetables, ghee, sugar, chicken, eggs, and various other food items, an official told Dawn.

Assistant Commissioner Afrasiab Zubair Hindal said various measures were being taken to provide relief to the public.

He said medicines and other essential items were also being delivered via helicopter.

Those in need of immediate medical attention in the district were being transported to Peshawar and other cities, AC Zubair added.

Locals have demanded that the government immediately open the Thall-Parachinar road and the Kharlachi border crossing with Afghanistan to ease the movement of people and supplies.

Local leader arrested

Meanwhile, locals continued their weeks-long sit-in in the Mandori area of Lower Kurram on Friday.

They have been protesting for an operation against miscreants in the district, destruction of bunkers and compensation for the over 500 shops and houses that were destroyed in an attack following the Nov 21, 2024, attack.

Haji Karim, a local elder, said negotiations with civil and military officials to end the protest were scheduled today (Saturday) at the Chapri check post.

He said that the peace agreement should be implemented in letter and spirit, which included the elimination of bunkers, collection of weapons, and operations against terrorist organisations.

The rehabilitation of Bagan victims was the most important demand in the negotiation, Mr Karim added.

Meanwhile, police also arrested the tehsil chairman, Agha Muzammil Hussain, on Friday morning in Parachinar, Upper Kurram, for holding a protest.

Following his detention, he was shifted to Lower Kurram, according to police sources.

An FIR was registered against Mr Hussain on January 5 for violating Section 144 and holding a protest sit-in. Local representatives have expressed concern over the arrest and demanded his immediate release.

During a joint press conference in Parachinar, political, social, tribal and religious organisation leaders condemned the arrest of Mr Hussain, who was also the district president of Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen.

Students warn of protests

Meanwhile, students stuck in Parachinar and adjoining villages in Upper Kurram have warned of protests if roads weren’t opened immediately.

They claimed to have secured admissions in local and foreign educational institutions, but these were being cancelled as they had yet to join the classes.

The students deplored that they were at risk of losing an academic year and warned that if arrangements weren’t made to transport them to Peshawar within 24 hours, they would begin protests.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Parachinar, local student leaders Tasveer Hussain, Sajid Hussain, Ghayoor Hussain, Tahir Hussain, and others said hundreds of students from Parachinar and over a hundred villages in upper and lower Kurram have secured admissions to educational institutions, but they have been unable to travel due to the road closure.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2025