PESHAWAR:
At least seven people were killed when unidentified gunmen attacked a passenger vehicle in Lower Kurram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), on Tuesday, Express News reported.
According to the police, the attackers opened fire on the passenger vehicle near Ahmad Khan Kalle and fled the scene.
After the incident, police and security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation.
Police said the bodies of the deceased were shifted to the THQ hospital, while investigations are underway. Kurram District Police Officer (DPO) Malik Habib stated that the attack was aimed at undermining the hard-won peace in the area.
Member of the National Assembly (MNA), Engineer Hameed Hussain, condemned the incident, saying that the terrorist act in the otherwise peaceful locality of Ahmed Khan Kalle was a conspiracy of miscreants, which will never be allowed to succeed.
Earlier, a series of regional consultative Jirgas on law and order, led by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, concluded with the final sitting at the Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar.
The meeting was attended by tribal elders from Upper, Central and Lower Kurram, political leaders, provincial and national assembly members, as well as senior government and police officials.
Participants praised the government’s peace efforts, development package for Kurram, and emergency services, including helicopter support. Elders from both Sunni and Shia communities pledged unity for peace, rejecting terrorism in all forms.
The Jirga recommended creating an empowered body of federal and provincial representatives, security agencies and local elders to negotiate with Afghanistan, stressing that Kurram’s peace is directly linked to the neighbouring country.
They also urged opening trade routes with Afghanistan to create jobs and strengthen local livelihoods.
The gathering followed earlier Jirgas held in North and South Waziristan, Mohmand, Khyber and Bajaur, where tribal elders similarly endorsed the government’s initiative and reaffirmed that peace is essential for development.
Kurrum police chief Malik Habib said that the attack was aimed at undermining the hard-won peace in the district.
