PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has assured of additional security measures to ensure lasting peace in the violence-marked Kurram district.
Noting that the recruitment of 400 police personnel has already been approved to secure the Kurram Highway, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Adviser to the Chief Minister on Information Mohammad Ali Saif said that new police check posts will be set up and two squads of Frontier Constabulary (FC) will be deployed to ensure lasting peace in the area.
His statement comes after the two warring tribes in Kurram signed a 14-point peace deal after days of talks aimed at bringing peace to the area after weeks of violence on Wednesday.
“Both sides have agreed to hand over their weapons to the government,” jirga member Malik Sawab Khan told a private television channel on Wednesday.
The peace deal came after a grand peace jirga was convened at Kohat Fort – under the supervision of GOC 9 Division Major General Zulfiqar Bhatti to broker talks between the two sides.
According to Barrister Saif, the Jirga held more than 50 sessions during which the members sincerely sought peace while being supported by the administration including the Commissioner and Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG).
Despite several ceasefires announced in the past year, the issue has remained unresolved and tribal elders have continued efforts to negotiate a permanent peace deal.
The recent clashes, which have claimed over 130 lives since November, have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in the district, where supplies of medicine and oxygen have run critically low due to the prolonged closure of the main road linking Parachinar to Peshawar.
Meanwhile, the death toll since July has exceeded 200 in the district of more than 600,000 residents.
An adviser to the KP CM justified the road closure as a move to prevent further bloodshed and said the government was fully aware of the issues.
Talking about the relief, he said the Chief Minister has dedicated his helicopter to airlift people and medicines to the area.
“Around 15 tons of medicines were delivered and air services provided to more than 700 people,” he noted.
Commenting on the ongoing meeting at the Parachinar Press Club, he said the protest was no longer justified as the demands of the protesters had been accepted.
Saif further said that the government will soon start the process of providing compensation to the affected.
