KURRAM: Tribal elders in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have called on the government to reopen the roads in the district which have been closed for the past few months.
According to sources, a seminar held in Kurram for permanent and sustainable peace in Kurram district. The seminar was attended by the tribal elders, district administration, and other stakeholders.
The participants of the seminar presented suggestions for establishing lasting peace in Kurram. The tribal elders said that closure of key travel routes despite a peace agreement being reached is regrettable. They urged the district administration to immediately open and secure the transportation routes.
Three people, who were going to Peshawar from Kurram district, were shot dead in the Bagan area of Lower Kurram, sparking protests in Parachinar.
The victims were identified as Tahir Hussain, Safar Ali, and Mazar Hussain.
According to police sources and local administration, the incident took place in Dad Qamar, a locality within Bagan. The victims, all residents of Parachinar, were reportedly traveling to Peshawar as their travel documents were nearing expiry.
Despite a peace agreement that had recently been reached between local tribes, the route through Bagan remained unsafe.
Family members of the deceased alleged that the three men were abducted and killed despite assurances of safe passage under the terms of the peace deal.
Local authorities confirmed that the bodies had been transported to Parachinar and said investigations into the killings were underway.
Additional Commissioner Aamir Nawaz confirmed that the bodies had been handed over to the families and that a formal inquiry into the incident was ongoing.
Following the incident, residents of Parachinar staged a protest to condemn the killings.
Addressing the demonstrators, social activist Musarrat Bangash, local elder Malik Zartaj, and others criticized the government’s failure to ensure the safety of travelers even after the peace accord. “The roads remain closed while helicopters and convoy services are being exploited by corrupt mafias,” said a protester.
They demanded the immediate restoration of safe travel routes and accountability for those responsible for the violence and delays in implementing the agreement. –Agencies
