The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government said on Wednesday that both warring sides in Kurram districts finally signed a peace agreement after more than three weeks of efforts to broker a ceasefire amid violence in the area.
The Grand Jirga was working towards a peace accord that would lead to the reopening of roads in restive Kurram. The efforts hit a snag on Tuesday, as two representatives from Lower Kurram were not available, delaying the solemnisation of an agreement between the warring sides.
Clashes stemming from decades-old land disputes have claimed at least 130 lives since last month, with food and medicine shortages reported due to weeks-long road blockades. Residents in Upper Kurram’s Parachinar have also been staging a sit-in since December 20, which a Dawn.com correspondent confirmed was continuing today, against the law and order situation there as well as road closures.
KP government spokesperson Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif announced the development in a statement issued today.
He said that one of the warring parties had signed the document a few days ago while the other side signed it today.
He said both sides agreed to surrender their weapons and demolish their bunkers.
Barrister Saif said the peace agreement would usher the district in a “new era of peace and development”, adding that calm and security would soon be restored in the restive district.
He added that convoys would leave for Parachinar on Saturday.
Malik Syed Asghar, a jirga member, told Dawn.com that both sides signed the peace document and the reservations of both sides were addressed. He said that a formal announcement of the peace agreement would be made at the Governor House Peshawar.
More to follow.
