Authorities in northwestern Pakistan announced Wednesday that heavily armed rival Sunni and Shiite Muslim tribes in a conflict-prone district bordering Afghanistan have reached a peace deal following recent deadly clashes.
A traditional grand assembly of tribal elders mediated the agreement between the warring sides in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where years-old land disputes have often led to deadly districtwide sectarian clashes, a provincial government spokesperson said in a late-night statement.
“Both sides have agreed to demolish their bunkers and surrender their heavy weapons to authorities,” Muhammad Ali Saif said in a post on X. He stated that anyone found guilty of violating the pact's terms would be apprehended and punished in line with local traditions.
Saif congratulated the nearly 800,000 residents of Kurram on the signing of the pact, assuring them the deal would “soon restore calm and security” and lead to “peace and development” in the district.
The most recent round of violence erupted in the district on November 21, when gunmen ambushed a convoy of vehicles mainly carrying Shiite community members, killing 52 of them.
Although no one claimed responsibility for the massacre, it led to retaliatory attacks by Shiite fighters against the Sunni village where the convoy was ambushed, raising the overall death toll to more than 130.
The provincial government’s intervention had led to a ceasefire and peace talks between the warring sides, but the persistent tensions compelled authorities to halt all Pakistan traffic to and from the district, disrupting the local population’s access to food, fuel, medicine, work and trade.
Saif said the peace deal would allow the roads to the district to reopen, noting that stranded convoys of passengers and supplies were scheduled to resume their journeys on Saturday.
Pakistani authorities have been ferrying essential commodities such as food and medicine to Kurram by helicopter, citing the insecurity of travel in overland convoys. Residents complained, however, that the air missions were insufficient in addressing the district border crisis. They have also been staging street protests to press the government to reopen the road links to help overcome the shortages.
Kurram is the only Pakistani district where Shiites, not Sunnis, make up the majority of the population.
Pakistan’s bilateral and transit trade with landlocked Afghanistan through the Kurram district's Kharlachi border crossing has also been halted because of recent sectarian tensions.
