Kurram tense as clashes go on

Published June 21, 2008

PARACHINAR, June 20: Fifteen people, two paramilitary troops among them, were injured in the ongoing clashes in the Kurram Agency on Friday.

Officials said that armed men attacked a security post in Khaar Kali area near Sadda town, injuring two paramilitary troops.

Militants also attacked the Balishkhel village with heavy machine-guns and rockets, but no casualty was reported.

Clashes between rival groups also continued in Shalozan, Piwar and Tari Mangal areas in which 13 people suffered injuries. The warring factions using heavy weapons targeted each other’s houses from hilltops.

Hospital sources said that 17 people had been killed and 58 others wounded over the past three days. Tension gripped the region.

Traders and businessmen observed a strike in Parachinar on Friday in protest against Thursday’s attack on a food convoy.

Armed men attacked the convoy near Sadda town, killing four drivers. Security forces, backed by helicopter gunships, retaliated and killed three attackers and injured two dozen others, including women and children. Two of the injured died later.

Traders demanded compensation for damage and arrest of the culprits.

Opinion

Editorial

Punishing evaders
02 May, 2024

Punishing evaders

THE FBR’s decision to block mobile phone connections of more than half a million individuals who did not file...
Engaging Riyadh
Updated 02 May, 2024

Engaging Riyadh

It must be stressed that to pull in maximum foreign investment, a climate of domestic political stability is crucial.
Freedom to question
02 May, 2024

Freedom to question

WITH frequently suspended freedoms, increasing violence and few to speak out for the oppressed, it is unlikely that...
Wheat protests
Updated 01 May, 2024

Wheat protests

The government should withdraw from the wheat trade gradually, replacing the existing market support mechanism with an effective new one over the next several years.
Polio drive
01 May, 2024

Polio drive

THE year’s fourth polio drive has kicked off across Pakistan, with the aim to immunise more than 24m children ...
Workers’ struggle
Updated 01 May, 2024

Workers’ struggle

Yet the struggle to secure a living wage — and decent working conditions — for the toiling masses must continue.