A five-day clash between Sunni and Shia tribes has erupted in Upper Kurram district of Pakistan, a tribal area bordering Afghanistan. The tribes used heavy weapons, including mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
Religious disputes between Sunni-Shia groups caused gunfire last night in Parachinar, a city with 200,000 residents. Some areas have reached a truce, and efforts continue to establish a ceasefire elsewhere. Police and security forces are deployed to maintain order.
The major fight broke out after a series of attacks by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists on Shiite settlements in Kurram, near the border with Afghanistan.
Pakistan calls for action against TTP’s cross-border attacks.
Ambassador Munir Akram, the permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said few days ago:
“The highest priority – for the international community, for Afghanistan’s neighbors and for Afghanistan itself – remains the elimination of terrorism within and from Afghanistan.”
He also expressed concern about:
- Afghanistan posing a dire and direct threat to all of it’s neighbors as well as to the international community.
- The need for the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and support its economic recovery.
- Restrictions on women and girls, urging the Taliban to ensure their rights to education, work, and other basic freedoms.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister warns of “Military Actions”
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has warned about carrying out attacks in Afghan territories if cross-border terrorism and infiltration do not stop.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghan’s armed groups of carrying out attacks in Pakistan, and the Afghan government of providing them safe heaven. The Taliban denies such allegations.
Pakistan has begun efforts to deport 80,000 undocumented Afghan nationals from the country in this 2nd phase. The government expelled 541,000 Afghans in the first phase, which began in November last year.
Just-in:
Authorities have registered a case under anti-terrorism provisions against Haji Noor Mehsud, commander of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
