Consensus eludes as Kurram peace jirga meets for 9th consecutive day
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The marathon peace jirga, being held in Kohat to deliberate upon ways to restore law and order situation in Parachinar town of Kurram District where since July about 200 people had been killed in clashes, has taken its discussions into ninth consecutive day with no consensus in sight, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Sunday.
The participants from both sides of the sectarian divide held lengthy parleys at the grand jirga chiefly focused on reopening of main roads and some other important issues.
Representatives of provincial and district governments were also on hand for assistance but evolving a consensus on peace and security in Kurram was still a far cry.
MNA and parliamentary leader Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) Engineer Hameed Hussain said that due to closure of roads local people were facing numerous difficulties to shop for groceries and other essential commodities for daily use.
He further said that due to non-availability of medicines, and food items miseries and hardships of local people were multiplying day by day. He said the participants of the jirga should focus on reopening of the roads and security of the locals on priority basis.
The lawmaker said that in case of their failure, MWM will start an agitation movement for immediate provision of relief to the people of Kurram.
Social activist Mir Afzal Khan said that due to clash between the rival tribes the exit and entry points of Kurram had been closed for the last 67 days.
People were facing severe conditions due to the biting along with shortage of essential daily-life commodities and suspension of petrol and gas supplies in the area.
Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mehsud said that measures were being taken to reopen roads for supply of medicines and daily consumable items.
AFP adds: Thousands of residents are stranded without food and medicines in parts of remote Kurram district, which borders Afghanistan, as the government struggles to restore calm after deadly clashes between Sunni and Shiite tribes stemming from decades-old tensions over farmland.
"Our generations yearn for peace," 72-year-old Ghulam told AFP at his home in Parachinar, the main town in Kurram district.
Kurram, known as the "Parrot's Beak" for its protrusion into neighbouring Afghanistan, is bounded by dizzyingly high mountains, the northern flank of which includes the Tora Bora caves.
"I have never experienced peace in my life and have no hope my coming generations will live free of fear," Ghulam said.
The latest round of violence in Kurram erupted in May and intensified in July, when gunmen opened fire on a council of elders attempting to settle the latest round of disagreements over land.
Various truces announced since then have held for only weeks or days at a time.
More than 300 shops and over 200 homes in Sunni areas have been destroyed, often by fire, and hundreds of families have fled.
Reporter Mohsin Shirazi