Daily Times

The first convoy carrying food items and relief supplies reached restive Kurram district’s Parachinar of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after days-long delay, said Deputy Commissioner Ashfaq Khan on Wednesday.

In a video statement, DC Khan welcomed the peaceful arrival of the aid convoy. He requested the people to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies and maintain peace. KP government’s spokesperson Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said that the 40 vehicles carrying relief items had been dispatched after successful negotiations with local protesters.

The Grand Jirga, Kurram Peace Committee and local peace committees played a key role in the negotiations, said the spokesperson.

Meanwhile, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Zahid Usman Kakakhel said the people were happy after the convoy reached Parachinar peacefully.

Like aid convoy, the ADC said a step should be taken for a convoy of passengers to ease the difficulties of citizens.

The development comes after the Parachinar aid convoy, which was scheduled to be sent last week, was stalled following an attack on Kurram DC Javedullah Mehsud in the Bagan area which resulted in five people being wounded along with the DC.

Following the attack, Barrister Saif said that the convoy will be sent once the conditions are back to normal.

The development came against the backdrop of an acute shortage of medicines and other essential items in the district which was declared “disaster hit” last month by the KP government amid tribal clashes which have resulted in over 200 fatalities since July 2024.

The prolonged road closures, attributed to security concerns by the provincial government, have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis faced by Kurram’s over 600,000 residents.

The convoy’s departure came after the two warring tribes signed a peace agreement on Wednesday last week aimed at establishing peace.

The 14-point accord requires the surrendering of weapons as well as the dismantlement of bunkers with a committee set to be constituted within 15 days – to be counted from the day of the signing of the peace deal – to start implementing the agreement.