Peshawar: At least 32 people were killed and 30 others injured in sectarian violence in northwest Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the last 24 hours, police said. The clashes between the tribes of Alizai and Bagan in Kurram district bordering Afghanistan took place following Thursday's attack on a convoy of passenger vans in which 47 people were killed by militants. Gunfire is also continuing in Balishkhel, Khar Kali, Kunj Alizai and Maqbal.
The tribes are targeting each other with heavy and automatic weapons. So far, 18 people have been killed and 30 injured in the clashes. Independent and media sources reported more than 30 deaths in the clashes. Homes and shops have also been damaged in the fighting. People from various villages have fled to safer locations.
Due to the deteriorating situation, all educational institutions in the district remain closed on Saturday, confirmed Muhammad Hayat Hassan, chairman of the Private Education Network.
Over 50 passenger vehicles were fired upon at Bagan, Manduri, and Ochhat on Thursday. Six vehicles were directly hit in the firing, resulting in the deaths of 47 people, including women and children, police said. The vehicles were travelling in a convoy from Parachinar to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, officials said. Most of the victims belonged to the Shia community, they said.
Shia and Shiite Muslims in Pakistan
Shiite Muslims make up about 15 per cent of the 240 million population of Sunni-majority Pakistan, which has a history of sectarian animosity between the two communities. Although they live together largely peacefully in the country, tensions have existed for decades in some areas, especially in parts of Kurram, where Shiites dominate.
Nearly 50 people from the two sides were also killed over a land dispute in July when clashes between Sunni and Shiites erupted in Kurram.
Pakistan is currently carrying out intelligence-based operations to tackle violence in the northwest and southwest, where militants and separatists often target police, troops and civilians. Most violence in these areas has been blamed on the Pakistani Taliban and the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army.
(With inputs from agency)
