Islamabad, Pakistan – After week-long clashes between rival tribes in Pakistan’s Kurram district, killing at least 46 people and injuring nearly 200, the fighting has now stopped following a meeting between authorities and tribal leaders.
A large jirga, or meeting of tribal elders, along with civil and security officials, met in Parachinar, the main town of Kurram district. They held an hour-long meeting on Wednesday, after which a ceasefire was agreed by all interested parties – until October 5th.
Javedullah Mehsud, deputy commissioner of Kurram, said there have been no casualties since then and the government is confident of reaching a resolution to end the conflict.
“Unfortunately, this is an ongoing land dispute in the area that has also led to fighting in the past, but we are confident that this time we can put an end to it,” Mehsud told Al Jazeera.
So where is Kurram, what happened there, how did things get worse and what’s next?
Where is Kurram?
Kurram, a mountainous area that shares a long border with Afghanistan in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is home to around 700,000 people, of whom more than 42 percent belong to the Shia community.
It is closer to Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, than any major city in Pakistan, but it also borders the Afghan provinces of Khost, Paktia, Logar and Nangarhar, which are considered havens for anti-Shia armed groups like ISIL (ISIS). ) and the Pakistani Taliban (TTP).
The area has a history of sectarian conflict between majority Shia and Sunni groups and has also faced militancy over the past decade, with frequent attacks by the TTP and other armed groups against the Shia community.
According to local authorities and tribal leaders, the current conflict has its roots in an ongoing land dispute between majority-Shia and majority-Sunni tribes. Another similar incident occurred last year, resulting in the deaths of at least 20 people.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) urged the government to help broker peace in the area where, it added, “violence has taken a heavy toll on ordinary citizens.”
“HRCP calls on the KP government to ensure that the ceasefire being negotiated continues. All disputes, whether over land or arising out of sectarian conflicts, must be resolved peacefully through negotiations convened by the KP government with all stakeholders represented,” he said in a July 29 statement.
HRCP is deeply concerned about the significant loss of life in #Parachinar, Kurram, where rival tribes engaged in a violent land dispute for several days, fueling sectarian conflict. The violence had a strong impact on ordinary citizens, whose freedom of movement and access…
— Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) July 29, 2024
What caused the latest clashes?
Mehmood Ali Jan, a member of the local peace committee and part of the jirga that held meetings this week, says the conflict arose between Maleekhel, a majority-Shia tribe, and Madgi Kalay, a majority-Sunni tribe, over a section of land in the village of Boshehra, situated 15 km (9 miles) south of the town of Parachinar.
“It was a piece of agricultural land originally owned by the Shia tribe, which they leased to the Sunni tribe for agricultural purposes. The lease was supposed to end in July this year, but when the time came, they refused to return the land, leading to fighting,” Jan told Al Jazeera.
Jan says the local peace committee, which included members of both Shia and Sunni tribes, immediately tried to pacify the situation and asked the government to intervene. But the government, he says, was slow to respond.
“The state was completely absent initially, which led to a lot of fighting. They did not interfere or send forces or police, despite the strong presence of military and paramilitary forces in the area,” said Jan.
Nisar Ahmad Khan, the district police officer, however, refutes allegations of government inaction, saying that as soon as the fighting began, the state took swift action. He admitted, however, that a lack of manpower and difficult terrain hampered the pace of the government’s response.
“We have limited capacity and Kurram is a large area and difficult to access due to its mountainous terrain. We often had to walk for hours to reach places where fighting was taking place. Furthermore, due to the porous border with Afghanistan, many people have access to sophisticated weapons, making everything even more difficult,” the police officer told Al Jazeera.
However, he categorically denied any involvement of the TTP or any other armed group targeting the Shia community due to their religious identity.
“The village of Boshehra, where most of the fighting took place, has a strategic advantage for the defenders and anyone trying to gain access was easily targeted. In this case, it was the Maleekhel tribe, which suffered the most losses,” he said.
Why do these clashes keep happening?
Jan, the tribal elder, said that although a land dispute is at the heart of the current tensions, the region’s long history of sectarian conflicts allows “some elements” on both sides to use religion as a mobilization tool.
“There have been major land dispute conflicts in the Kurram area between various tribes that have been ongoing since before the partition [of the Indian subcontinent in 1947]. Whenever something is triggered, it is conveniently given a sectarian angle, which is not the case,” she added.
There have been several incidents of significant sectarian violence over the past seven decades, but the most serious clash began in 2007, during which fighting between Shia and Sunni tribes lasted nearly four years. Several villages were burned and thousands of people had to leave the region and seek shelter in other parts of the country.
Kurram, which at the time was part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), was isolated from the rest of the country. In 2011, the Pakistani military, with the help of local tribal leaders, finally managed to put an end to the fighting. Government data shows that nearly 2,000 people were killed in the clashes, while more than 5,000 people were injured.
Khan, the police chief, said that in many areas of the district Shia and Sunni communities live together peacefully.
He cited last month’s Ashura procession, scheduled to mourn the martyrdom of Husayn Ibn Ali al-Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
“Recently we had Ashura processions, which were held in different parts of Kurram. In many areas, Sunni tribes provided security to mourning Shiites,” Khan said.
Mehsud, the deputy commissioner, said the government hopes to use the ceasefire to resolve the land dispute between the Maleekhel and Madgi Kalay tribes.
“We have our land dispute resolution mechanisms and this ceasefire will allow us to bring together all interested parties to try to end this permanently,” he said.
What is the current situation?
The fighting led to the closure of most roads leading to Kurram, and reports emerged that even ambulances were being targeted by unknown men.
Schools in Parachinar remained closed, while markets saw little activity. Jan, who is also a trader, said road closures have led to shortages of food and other necessities, making it difficult for anyone to leave the city in case of an emergency.
“After the ceasefire, we hope that life will return to normal. Right now, people only travel in convoys, with police and paramilitary forces guarding the roads leading out of Kurram,” he said.
Jan also added that the fighting resulted in the closure of the mobile data network, but landlines were working.
Mehsud, the government official, said that following the lull in fighting, there is an uneasy calm in the area, but expressed hope that normal activity in the region will soon resume.
“Naturally, there is a climate of fear at the moment and people are reluctant to leave their homes. However, in the last two days, we have seen some semblance of normality and things should improve,” he said.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
