Death toll in Pakistan sectarian clashes now over 130, official says

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By Mushtaq Ali and Charlotte Greenfield

PESHAWAR (Reuters) – Deadly sectarian clashes have continued in Pakistan’s north-western Kurram district in spite of a tentative ceasefire struck late last week, local officials said, with the death toll now over 130 as authorities try to broker a solution.

Kurram, near the border with Afghanistan, has been a flashpoint for sectarian tensions for decades. They spilled over into a fresh wave of attacks last month when clashes between Sunnis and Shias left dozens dead.

District administration official Wajid Hussain said 133 people had been killed in the attacks in the last week and a half.

“The district administration and other relevant authorities have initiated efforts to stop fighting between the two communities but there is no breakthrough yet,” he said.

A Pakistani government team mediated a seven-day ceasefire deal between the rival groups last Sunday. Armed Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims have engaged in tribal and sectarian rivalry for decades over land and other local disputes in Kurram.

Provincial authorities put the death toll at 97, with 43 people killed in the initial attack when gunmen opened fire on mostly Shia drivers and the rest killed in retaliatory clashes.

Chief Minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Ali Amin Khan Gandapur visited the area on Saturday for a large gathering of tribal elders and leaders.

“Anyone who takes up arms will be treated as a terrorist, and their fate will be that of a terrorist,” said Gandapur according to a statement from his office late on Saturday, adding that security forces would remain in the area.

Residents and officials said the main highway connecting Kurram’s main city of Parachinar to the provincial capital Peshawar was blocked, which had created challenges transferring wounded people to hospitals.

“Our medical team is working around the clock to perform surgeries due to the challenges in referring patients to larger hospitals in Peshawar and elsewhere,” said Dr Syed Mir Hassan, from Parachinar’s district hospital.

He added that they were currently treating around 100 wounded patients and had received 50 bodies during the violence.

(Reporting by Mushtaq Ali in Peshawar and Charlotte Greenfield in Islamabad; Editing by Kim Coghill)