Unidentified gunmen open fire on passenger convoys in Lower Kurram, leaving 42 dead and 29 injured

At least 42 people, including seven women and a child, were killed and 29 others injured on Thursday when unidentified gunmen opened fire on passenger convoys in the Lower Kurram tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The attack marks a devastating act of violence in a region already burdened by ongoing security challenges and a fragile law and order situation.

Two senior officials of the local administration told The News that around 100 vehicles were part of two separate convoys—one traveling from Peshawar to Parachinar and the other moving from Parachinar to Peshawar—when gunmen launched a coordinated assault at five different locations in Lower Kurram. “It seemed to be a pre-planned attack and the attackers were aware of the movement of two separate convoys travelling from both sides. The moment the two convoys reached Lower Kurram, the gunmen opened indiscriminate fire on the vehicles at five different places, killing innocent people, including women,” a government official told The News on condition of anonymity. Of the 39 bodies collected, seven were women and a child. “Some of the bodies were stated to be missing as tension escalated when hundreds of people, including relatives of the victims, arrived at the site of the attack,” said the official.

The attack triggered a retaliatory response from members of the opposite sect, resulting in further violence. “The situation in Kurram has become very complicated and extremely dangerous right now, and we don’t have the exact number of people who died in retaliation,” the official added. Passengers in other vehicles sought refuge in nearby houses and took shelter as tension mounted, with relatives unable to contact them due to the suspension of cellular phone service.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry confirmed that 42 people were martyred and 29 others injured in the terrorist assault. “I have directed the local authorities to immediately shift the injured people to hospitals and provide them with medical care,” he told The News. He feared the death toll might rise, given the critical condition of some of the injured.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also confirmed the loss of 39 lives in the terrorist strike. Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, spokesman for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, told The News that the government was in contact with the Kurram administration and efforts were underway to bring normalcy to the tribal district. He said passenger vehicles were being escorted by police, but the gunmen first targeted the police and then the passenger vehicles.

The injured were taken to the nearby Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Alizai and evacuated to the District Headquarters Hospital, Parachinar. Those critically injured were referred to Peshawar for better treatment. Kurram Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mahsud and District Police Officer Ahmad Shah rushed to the area to manage the situation.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur condemned the attack and formed a committee, comprising the provincial law minister, local MNA and MPA, and chief secretary, to visit Kurram, assess the ground realities, and submit a detailed report. He instructed the reactivation of a previously held tribal jirga to help stabilize the situation and emphasized that the provincial government, police, and relevant institutions were making concerted efforts to improve law and order in the region. The chief minister announced financial assistance for the victims’ families and vowed that those responsible for the attack would be brought to justice.

Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao and President Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the incident, with Zardari calling it a cowardly and inhumane act. President Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif directed that the perpetrators be brought to justice and expressed their condolences to the aggrieved families. Prime Minister Sharif emphasized that the enemies of the nation would fail in their attempts to destroy peace. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with Pakistan, offering to assist in combating terrorism