PESHAWAR:
The people of Lower Kurram started surrendering their firearms to the authorities amid a law enforcement operation (LEA) that entered its third day on Tuesday.
According to sources, the police collected weapons from Bagan and its adjoining areas where the operation is currently taking place. They said the operation continued in the area on Tuesday, with forces using heavy artillery and helicopter gunships to target hideouts of alleged criminals.
They said all routes leading to Bagan had been closed by the LEAs and the military and no one was allowed to enter the area.
Sectarian tensions escalated in Kurram district last November after an attack on a convoy traveling from Parachinar to Peshawar. In the ensuing violence, around 150 people lost their lives.
But on January 1, the warring tribesmen signed an agreement under the auspices of a tribal Jirga in Kohat.
According to the peace agreement, local residents promised to surrender their weapons to the state in different phases within 15 days, while the dismantling of local bunkers must be completed by February 2025.
However, on January 4, a convoy of former Kurram Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mehsud came under attack near Bagan area, resulting in injuries to the official and six members of his escort.
On 13 January, the provincial government dismantled two bunkers out of hundreds established by the two warring factions, but on 16 January, unidentified gunmen launched a rocket attack on a convoy of 35 vehicles carrying fruit, vegetables, medicine and other essential items from Thall to Thall. Bagan area.
The criminal also abducted a number of people who were part of the convoy and a day later dead bodies of six of them were discovered in the Aravali area of Kurram with their hands and feet tied.
Authorities on Sunday launched an operation against miscreants after a high-level meeting in Peshawar. Operations against miscreants continued for the second consecutive day.
Condemning the ongoing operation, a tribal elder from Bagan, Malik Iqbal Badshah, stated that the rival group looted and then set fire to Bagan on November 22, sparking tension in the community.
“Now the government has also started an operation against the same people while also collecting their weapons,” he lamented. He said heavy firearms were also confiscated from the area in 2007 and 2013.
A resident of Bagan, Muhammad Afzal, said that the people of Bagan are staging a protest at Mandori. “We demand that the people who suffered losses during a tribal attack in November be compensated and that those responsible for attacking and ransacking Bagan be brought to justice,” he said.
