Kurram warring tribes reach 8-month peace agreement

This photograph taken on December 3, 2024, shows men gathered during a meeting at a mosque, after clashes in Parachinar. — AFP

Both warring tribes agree to eight-month peace deal.
Agreement finalised in presence of Kurram DC.
Elders and key stakeholders participated in negotiations.

PARACHINAR: Amid the government’s efforts to ease tensions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram District, an eight-month peace agreement was reached between two warring tribes of the region on Saturday.

Jirga member Haji Kamal confirmed the development, saying that the agreement was finalised in the presence of Kurram Deputy Commissioner Ashfaq Ahmed along with other officials.

Sources told Geo News that elders from both sides, district administration officials, and other key stakeholders participated in the negotiations to reach the settlement.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Commissioner Ashfaq Ahmed said the truce has brought double joy for the residents ahead of Eid ul Fitr.

Meanwhile, jirga member Haji Asghar said that a plan is being formulated to reopen the roads, which have remained blocked due to ongoing tensions.

Kurram, a district of more than 600,000 residents near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, has long been a hotspot for sectarian violence. But recent months have seen escalating tensions, with clashes since July to date leaving over 200 people dead.

The recent clashes exacerbated a humanitarian crisis in the district, with medicine and oxygen supplies running critically low due to the prolonged closure of the main highway linking Parachinar to Peshawar.

Reports suggest that over 100 children may have died from a severe shortage of medicine, though Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government spokesperson Barrister Saif has denied these claims.

A grand peace jirga was convened at Kohat Fort to mediate talks between the warring tribes of the violence-hit district. After days-long negotiations, the two warring tribes in January 2025 signed a peace agreement containing 14 points aimed at establishing peace in the area.

However, the hard-won agreement suffered a major setback when Assistant Commissioner Saeed Manan, who was mediating to halt fresh clashes between warring sides in Kurram, was injured along with two others in a firing incident in February.

After sustained effort by law enforcers, peace was restored, and essential supplies also started coming into Kurram, which was cut off from the rest of the country for months.

As part of the peace efforts, a number of bunkers were demolished in the upper and lower parts of Kurram last month. The process of dismantling tribal bunkers began after the peace agreement.

Separately, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) announced head money —from Rs3m to Rs30m — on 14 terrorists involved in the recent violence in the Kurram district.

In a statement, the CTD claimed the accused were involved in the assassination of over 200 people, adding that all the terrorists were associated with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).