At least 210 guests, mostly children, were hospitalised after a wedding feast in Parachinar, Kurram district, sparked a serious health emergency, authorities said on Friday.

District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Qaiser Abbas suspected that food poisoning triggered the gastro outbreak at the wedding.

The wedding, attended by hundreds, initially saw around 200 guests fall ill after the festive meal — a number that later rose to 310. 

The affected individuals were rushed to the hospital, treated, and most of them were later discharged.

The investigation is currently underway, with the assistant commissioner also monitoring the progress of the probe.

The region had been marred by armed conflicts that erupted last year, triggering a humanitarian crisis, with reports of starvation, a lack of medicine, and oxygen shortages following the blocking of the main highway connecting Parachinar to Peshawar.

With the government’s efforts to ease tensions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram District, an eight-month peace agreement was reached between the warring clans in late March.

The Thall-Parachinar Road has been closed since a deadly attack on a convoy in the Bagan area of Lower Kurram, which killed more sores of people. Since then, food and medicines have been transported to the isolated area by convoy.

Meanwhile, the tribal elders urged the government to open the road, given the hardships faced by the people and to take immediate steps to ensure safe and free movement in the region.

Traders of the region also observed a shutter-down strike on Tuesday against the closure of the main artery for over six months.