• FDMA is sending 10 vehicles with relief goods in the first phase.
• Sources say 2-3 convoys of relief goods will be sent within a week.
• The Peace Committee assures the government of the safe passage of the convoy.
  

HANGU: The first aid convoy stranded in Tal for several days has finally left for Kurram to deliver relief to Bagan area residents of the crisis-hit area, officials said Pakinomist news on Wednesday.

Fata Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) has sent 10 vehicles with tents, mattresses, blankets, kitchen sets and various other vital items in the first phase.

Another convoy of food supplies also left for Kurram to deliver relief goods to Parachinar.

Sources further said that two to three more convoys of relief goods will be sent to Kurram within a week.

The insiders further said that the peace committee has assured the government of safe passage of the convoy and the affected Bagan residents of compensation for their losses.

It has also assured the authorities to hand over the culprits involved in the attack on Kurram Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mehsud.

Efforts to send essential food supplies and other goods to various parts of Kurram district began on January 4. However, the operation faced setbacks after an attack on Mehsud in Lower Kurram’s Bagan area and a sit-in protest by local tribes in Mandori.

Authorities temporarily halted the convoy as tensions escalated, but no resolution was reached for four days.

The drivers, running out of patience, reportedly chose to turn back. Many of the vehicles carrying perishable items drove back, while others remained stationed in different parts of Tal.

Delay “composition problems”.

Talking with The newsHangu Deputy Commissioner Gohar Zaman Wazir late on Tuesday clarified that only vehicles loaded with perishable goods were sent back. He said most of the vehicles in the convoy remained in place.

Despite a ceasefire and peace agreement after months of unrest, residents of Kurram district are awaiting the arrival of essential food and medical supplies.

For the past four days, convoys loaded with relief goods were unable to proceed due to roadblocks. The delay is exacerbating the problems of the local population as there is an acute shortage of medicine.

Deaths of children and other patients were also reported due to lack of proper treatment.

Lack of medical care ’causes deaths’

Social activist Ali Jawad said three more children died of illness, bringing the total number of people killed during the roadblocks to 221, including 147 children.

“The absence of food and medical aid is causing deaths. Immediate action is needed to prevent further losses,” he said.

Member of the National Assembly Hamid Hussain called on the authorities to reopen the routes without delay, saying: “The people have been under siege for three months. Further delays will worsen the suffering of the residents.

Immediate steps must be taken to ensure the supply of essential goods and medical care.”

The officials of the district administration said that Section 144 had been imposed in Kurram and a sit-in outside the Parachinar Press Club ended recently.

But they attributed the delay in the convoy movement to an ongoing protest at the main road in Lower Kurram’s Mandori area. Tehsil Chairman Agha Muzzammil Hussain said blocking food and medical supplies to the areas of Upper Kurram is inhumane.

Social worker Ameer Afzal Khan urged the government to immediately reopen the main routes for the delivery of food and medical supplies.

Meanwhile, protests erupted in Sadda, with shopkeepers demanding the release of Irshad Khan, the president of the local trade association, who was arrested for allegedly making inflammatory speeches.