• One group requests three more days for consultations with elders
• KP government committed to resolving the long-standing dispute, says CM’s adviser Barrister Saif
KOHAT: Negotiations aimed at finalizing a peace agreement between two conflicting groups in Kurram district were delayed on Saturday, as one group requested an additional three days to consult with their elders.
The talks are part of a series of official jirga sessions intended to end the violence that erupted after a passenger convoy was attacked on the Kohat-Parachinar highway on November 21. The attack triggered clashes that left more than 130 people, including women and children, dead. The highway has been closed ever since.
A grand jirga, attended by local officials, former lawmakers, and tribal elders, convened in Kohat late Saturday night. Despite holding multiple sessions, the agreement was postponed.
Initially, Kurram tribal elders had resisted joining the jirga, staging a sit-in and refusing participation. However, they later joined after their conditions were met, including a state-led operation to disarm the warring groups, destroy bunkers, and reopen the Kohat-Parachinar highway.
The jirga was attended by former MNAs Khayal Khan (from Kurram) and Pir Haider Ali Shah (from Hangu), tribal leaders Malik Noorjaf and Haji Ezzat Gul, Kohat Division Commissioner Motasim Billah, and Regional Police Officer Abbas Majeed Marwat.
During negotiations, one group raised concerns with Pir Shah Nawaz, chairman of the Kohat division’s Ulema committee, about the possibility of renewed clashes. They demanded compensation for losses, including shops and homes destroyed in the Bagan area.
Mr. Nawaz expressed concerns to Dawn on Saturday, fearing that arms might be transported to Kohat and Hangu. Kurram tribal leaders also worried that armed movements in the region could reignite the conflict.
The attack on the convoy last month not only sparked violence but also led to riots in Bagan and Bacha Kot, where shops, houses, and government buildings were set on fire.
In Parachinar, protesters torched two police checkpoints, and the unrest caused severe disruptions, including internet shutdowns, mobile service suspensions, school closures, and shortages of food and medicine.
A fragile seven-day truce reached on November 24 collapsed four days later, reigniting the fighting.
Dispute ‘nears resolution’
Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister on information, stated that only a few issues remain unresolved in the long-standing Kurram conflict, as reported by APP.
The Ahle Sunnat group has been given two more days for consultations, after which talks will resume on Tuesday.
Barrister Saif expressed confidence that an agreement would be signed following these consultations. In line with the apex committee’s directives, measures will be taken to dismantle bunkers and eliminate weapons from the area to ensure peace.
He emphasized that the KP government remains committed to achieving a permanent and sustainable resolution to this century-old conflict.
