At least 32 people were killed and 47 wounded in sectarian clashes in northwest Pakistan, an official told on Saturday, two days after attacks on Shiite passengers convoys killed 43.
Sporadic fighting between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan has killed around 150 over the past months.
Three days of bitter sectarian gunfights in northwestern Pakistan have killed at least 82 people and wounded 156 more, a local official said on Sunday (November 24, 2024).
Pakistan is a Sunni-majority country but Kurram district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province — near the border with Afghanistan — has a large Shia population and the communities have clashed for decades.
On Thursday, gunmen opened fire on two separate convoys of Shiite Muslims travelling with police escorts in Kurram, killing 43 while 11 wounded are still in “critical condition”, officials told AFP.
In retaliation Shiite Muslims on Friday evening attacked several Sunni locations in the Kurram district, once a semi-autonomous region, where sectarian violence has resulted in the deaths of hundreds over the years.
“Around 7 pm, a group of enraged Shiite individuals attacked the Sunni-dominated Bagan Bazaar,” a senior police officer stationed in Kurram told. After firing, they set the entire market ablaze and entered nearby homes, pouring petrol and setting them on fire. Initial reports suggest over 300 shops and more than 100 houses have been burned,” he said. He said local Sunnis “also fired back at the attackers.”
After negotiations on Sunday, government spokesman Muhammad Ali Saif said that both Shi’ite and Sunni leaders had agreed to halt the violence.
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