KURRAM / PESHAWAR: While a peace jirga comprising representatives from all the tribal districts and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reached Kurram district to hold talks with both warring groups in the Sadda and Parachinar areas, the provincial government on Wednesday supplied life-saving medicines to the volatile district through helicopter.

According to Umar Farooq, a jirga member, the 125-member team reached Kurram on Tues­day evening and spent the night at the residence of former MNA Munir Orak­zai after it was advised not to travel to Sadda and Parachinar during the night.

He said jirga members also tried to go to Sadda and Parachinar on Wed­nesday, but the Bagan tribesmen stopped them from continuing their journey.

However, the jirga members used alternative routes to reach Sadda, Mr Farooq said, adding that they held negotiations with the representatives of one group and would now go to Parachinar to meet the other side.

He told the media that they had come to Kurram on behalf of the entire Pashtun community and would make every effort to establish peace in coordination with the representatives of the two groups.

A ceasefire was enforced by the district administration after armed clashes between the two sides left 133 people, including women and children, dead.

Despite the ceasefire, transportation routes and the Afghan border remain closed, causing immense problems for residents in the district.

Meanwhile, the KP government provided its helicopter for supply of medicines to the restive district. The helicopter airlifted life-saving medicines worth Rs6.3 million on Wednesday.

A statement issued from the Chief Minister’s Secretariat read that the decision, to supply medicines via helicopter, was taken due to shortage of medicines and road blockage in the district. It read the government supplied two consignments on Wednesday, adding that the CM’s adviser and the provincial health secretary were monitoring the distribution of medicines.

Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur emphasised that the availability of essential medicines must be ensured at all times and instructed that air deliveries should remain operational until the ground connectivity was fully restored. “The provincial government is committed to utilising all available resources to ensure the uninterrupted supply of medicines to the area,” the statement quoted the chief minister as saying.

In a separate development, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram announced that the party will not attend the multi-party conference (MPC) called by KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi.

“The decision has been made because innocent and peaceful citizens were killed [in Islamabad] and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was supporting it. PPP also played role in passing the resolution against PTI in Balochistan Assembly,” he said.

Ikram Junaidi in Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2024