KURRAM: As negotiations between the government and demonstrators to guarantee the vehicles’ safe passage proved elusive, the residents of Parachinar waited for the relief convoy, which is currently halted in Thall, on the Kurram district’s border, for another day.
On January 1, the warring parties reached a peace deal following months of warfare that claimed over 130 lives. However, the road that connects Parachinar to the rest of the province is still blocked even if fighting has paused.
The deputy commissioner of Kurram was also hurt when a government vehicle was attacked on Saturday close to the Bagan area. The convoy has been stuck ever since.
Along with three elders who declined to sign the peace deal to put an end to the violence, the government also arrested three suspects who were named in the FIR in reaction to the attack.
Former minister Sajid Turi told Dawn that the government was in charge of making sure the convoy arrived in Parachinar following the peace deal.
He claimed that the situation in Kurram’s “besieged areas” was extremely challenging and would only get worse if the government did not find a solution.
Kurram is experiencing a severe scarcity of food, medications, and other essentials as a result of highways being closed for more than two months. According to Mr. Turi, the 93-day shutdown of the Thall-Parachinar Road has caused the markets to run out of essential supplies.
Although he did not identify the source of their “support,” he claimed that there were militants in the district.
The former minister claimed that the government was attempting to negotiate from a vulnerable position. He stated that the cabinet and the apex committee also supported the decision that the KP chief minister had made during his first visit to Kohat without consulting the jirga.
Additionally, a helicopter service that was introduced last month has been shut down for the past week, which has caused a great deal of trouble for patients, tourists, and students.
Mr. Turi claims that despite the government’s assurance that the convoy would arrive in Parachinar on Tuesday, the pledge has not been fulfilled. However, he made the point that convoys of this kind were not a way to meet the demands of around 500,000 people. “It is insufficient, and there is no assurance as to when another convoy will be permitted to continue,” he continued.
In order to address the inhabitants’ challenges with food and medical care, MNA Engineer Hameed Hussain called for quick action to open access routes.
Lower Kurram jirga member Dr. Qadar Orakzai expressed optimism that the convoy would move on to Kurram on Wednesday. He claimed that in order to resolve the matter, the local officials met at the Chapari Gate on Tuesday. He expressed his optimism that tonight’s events will turn out well.
According to Dr. Orakzai, Bagan Bazaar, which was destroyed by fire during the attack on a convoy in November that claimed over 40 lives, need to be rebuilt similarly to North Waziristan’s Miramshah Bazaar.
Regarding the DC attack, Dr. Orakzai stated that the Bagan people were prepared to establish their innocence in accordance with the newly signed peace deal and that they had nothing to do with the attack. “The Bagan people and the village where the attack occurred are themselves victims of violence and are prepared to prove their innocence,” he stated.
However, because of delays, a few of the convoy’s vehicles had returned to Peshawar. Only the cars carrying perishable food products have returned, according to Hangu Deputy Commissioner Gohar Zaman Wazir, with the other vehicles still being a part of the convoy.
