At least 38 people were killed and 11 others were injured in a gun attack on passenger vans in the Ochat area of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Lower Kurram district on Thursday, the Dawn reported, citing the police. Latest reports from the area are saying that the death toll has risen to 44 after many injured persons eventually succumbed.
Station House Officer of Ahmady Shama, Kaleem Shah, confirmed the death toll and the number of people who got injured, which included three women, the Dawn reported.
Update: 🔊
— Bashir Ahmad Gwakh (@bashirgwakh) November 21, 2024
Death toll in #Kurram attacks has risen to 44 (40 Shias and 4 Sunnis). Victims include women & children.
Protesters in Parachinar questioned #Pakistan government and security as the passenger convoy was attacked while traveling under the protection of FC and Police. pic.twitter.com/gKCnujXCn2
Local reports say that most of the passengers in the convoy were Shia Muslims from Parchinar, and the convoy, despite being under the protection of police and the Army, was attacked by some Sunni militant groups as it entered Sunni-majority villages. Some independent reports stated that the death toll could be much higher. Viral videos on social media are displaying badly damaged vans with injured and deceased persons lying scattered.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, while speaking to the media outside the Islamabad High Court, also confirmed the same figures, describing the attack as part of a troubling series of incidents in recent days.
“This past week has been difficult and upsetting; now 38 people have been martyred in Kurram,” Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said. He assured that authorities were in close contact with provincial officials, emphasising that the government would support Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in any way possible, the Dawn reported.
“We see a new incident every day now and are in constant contact with the KP authorities, the KP inspector general of police, and the chief minister. They need help,” Naqvi said.
“They are one of our provinces, a part of our country, and we will not leave them behind…We are going to help however we can,” he added.
According to KP government spokesperson Barrister Saif, the attack began with an assault on police personnel before targeting the passenger convoy from both sides. The convoy reportedly consisted of around 200 vehicles, Saif said. He said that the area was attended by district officials, senior police officers, and emergency responders, and an investigation is currently underway, the Dawn reported.
Speaking to Dawn, Kurram Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mehsud suggested that while sectarian violence had occurred in the region before, the targeting of civilians in this attack raised the possibility of terrorism.
Earlier, the medical superintendent at Alizai Hospital, Dr Muhammad Ishaq, reported 33 fatalities and 30 injuries, with many of the injured being referred to hospitals in the district and others transferred to Peshawar.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari described the assault on innocent passengers as a “cowardly and inhumane” act and called for swift punishment of those responsible.
“Attacking innocent passengers is a cowardly and inhumane act,” he quoted in a post on X by Pakistan Peoples Party’s media cell.
“The President stressed on the need to provide timely medical aid to the injured and take action against those responsible,” the post further read.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack, stressing the importance of providing the best medical care to the injured and promising to identify and punish the perpetrators.
“The enemies of the peace of the country attacked the convoy of innocent citizens, which is tantamount to brutality. All attempts of anti-national elements to destroy the peace of the beloved country will be thwarted…The evil elements involved in the incident will be identified and punished accordingly. Saboteurs cannot demoralise the brave Pakistani nation by such cowardly actions,” Sharif said, as reported by Dawn.
KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur also condemned the attack and dispatched a delegation to Kurram to assess the situation.
Last month, two terrorists were killed in an operation in North Waziristan, and 12 security personnel were killed in a checkpost attack in Bannu.
(With inputs from ANI)
