Why sectarian tensions continue to simmer in Pakistan’s Kurram district

Pakistani authorities struggle to control months of tit-for-tat attacks between Shia and Sunni tribes in tribal region.

Islamabad, Pakistan – The main highway connecting Pakistan’s Kurram has remained closed for over four weeks as sectarian tensions sparked by land disputes continue to simmer in this tribal district bordering Afghanistan.

A picturesque mountainous region in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Kurram has been plagued by tensions since late July, when a land dispute between Shia and Sunni tribes resulted in at least 46 deaths.

Authorities imposed travel restrictions and boosted security in the wake of the July violence but the measures failed to stop tit-for-tat tribal attacks. In the latest attack, at least 15 people were killed after a convoy came under attack on October 12.

Mehmood Ali Jan, a local peace committee member and part of the jirga, a council of tribal elders, said people have been allowed to travel in only convoys in the past several months. But following the October killings, roads were closed to the public, he said.

Last week, thousands gathered for a “peace march” in Parachinar, the district headquarters, urging the government to enhance security for Kurram’s 800,000 residents, of whom more than 45 percent belong to the Shia minority.