At least 42 people were killed and 14 others critically injured when militants ambushed three buses in Kurram Agency, a remote area in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. The buses were traveling from Parachinar to Peshawar, mostly carrying members of the Shia community.
“42 people have died as a result of firing on passenger vehicles in Kurram district. These include women as well. 14 of them have no IDs. We are trying to get in touch with their relatives,” said a police official.
Kurram Faces Sectarian Conflict
The Kurram Agency has a long history of violent clashes between the Shia-dominated Parachinar and the surrounding Sunni-majority areas. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Security forces have launched a search operation to track down the attackers.
Federal Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack and said the federal government is in constant contact with KP authorities. “This past week has been difficult and upsetting. We see a new incident every day,” he said.
Locals Face Ongoing Threats from Militants
Kurram agency has seen deadly clashes over land disputes between Shia and Sunni tribes. Locals were previously only allowed to travel in convoys, a measure set by local elders for safety.
A local resident of Ochut said, “The gunmen were aware of the convoy’s movement and had positioned themselves in hiding around the surrounding mountains.”
This attack is one of the deadliest incidents in the ongoing sectarian conflict. Earlier this month, thousands of residents in Parachinar held a “peace march,” calling on the government to improve security for the area’s 800,000 residents, more than 45 percent of whom are Shia.
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