135 fall prey to terror in Kurram Agency in 3 months
The Kurram area was declared an
Agency in 1892, while the region was still under British rule, and was made a
part of Pakistan
in 1947.
Covering a total of 1,278 square kilometers, Kurram can be divided into three geographical areas, Upper Kurram (with an 80% Shia Muslim population), Central Kurram(with a 90 % Sunni Muslim population), and Lower Kurram(with an 80% Sunni Muslim population).
Covering a total of 1,278 square kilometers, Kurram can be divided into three geographical areas, Upper Kurram (with an 80% Shia Muslim population), Central Kurram(with a 90 % Sunni Muslim population), and Lower Kurram(with an 80% Sunni Muslim population).
Kurram has North
Waziristan , Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Orakzai Agency and Khyber Agency
on its Pakistani borders. It also shares its border with Afghanistan , on the border of
Nangarhar province, made famous due to the Al- Qaida base in Tora Bora.
Kurram Agency has a history of
sectarian tension and clashes between the Sunni and Shia sects that have
resulted in thousands of deaths on both sides.
The report also mentions about
the so-called major “Shia militant” groups include Hizbullah, Mehdi Militia and
Hydri Taliban, which in fact, has no existence at all.
A security official on condition
of anonymity told this scribe that they don’t have any official data of such
groups in the name of Hizbullah or other fictions, which the report mentioned
about. In fact, the official, added, they have witnessed the locals from the
Shia tribes to have been participated in the past four year clashes with
Taliban, with flags of Hizbullah.
“We understand that there is no existence
of such groups in Kurram Agency and the locals--from the shia sect, though have
spiritual inclination towards Hizbullah owing to the groups landmark victories
against Israel”, he added.
The report further states about
the major Sunni militant groups include TTP, Tehrik e Taliban Islami Pakistan
(TTIP) of Fazal Saeed Haqqani and Haqqani Network. Fazal Saeed Haqqani has
separated from TTP and formed TTI P in Kurram Agency.
Security Situation in KA
The security situation in Kurram
Agency remained volatile in 2012's third quarter. There were 135 casualties reported in 13
incidents. A total of 35 people were killed and 100 were injured.
Casualty types
Out of total 135 reported
casualties 35 were killed and 100 were found injured. There were 8 militants,
23 civilians, 1 security force personnel and 3 peace force personnel killed
while 92 civilians and 8 security force people were injured.
Security
Situation in Kurram
Clash between security forces
and militants
|
2
|
Firing
|
1
|
Blasts
|
2
|
Target killing
|
1
|
Landmine
|
5
|
Kidnapping
|
1
|
Mortar shells
|
1
|
Number of Attacks
|
13
|
Killed
|
35
|
Injured
|
100
|
Total Number of Casualties
|
135
|
Comparison between 2 and 3 quarter 2012 in KA
Comparative figures show a minor
decrease in the intensity of the security situation, with a decrease in total
number of incidents from 17 to 13. There is also a decrease in the total number
of killings, which fell from 80 to 35, the number of injuries however almost
doubled.
The quarter started with a
pro-government tribal chief, Malik Abdul Wazah Khan gunned down in the area of
Buggan in Parachinar. Clashes between security forces and militants in Masozai
Area of Central Kurram were also reported.
Five Tribesmen were also
kidnapped from Kurram agency. A car bomb ripped through a crowded market at the
busy Kashmir chowk in Parachinar, the capital
of Kurram Agency, killing 14 people and injuring 76 others in what appeared to
be a sectarian attack. Tall Parachinar road is open with some attacks reported
on and off.
The Nature
of extremism in
Kurram Agency is
different from that
of other tribal
agencies where Talibanization and Sectarian Violence accelerate each
other. A dominant view in Kurram considers the sectarian tendencies in one sect
invites extremism which further leads to the formation of militants groups in
other sects.
This sectarian conflict
facilitates clashes between militant groups that have been supported or backed
by national and international forces.
The war in Afghanistan has kept militancy
alive in Kurram as the flow of Mujahideens through Kurram's porous borders. Kurram's
militant problem is directly related to the US
presence in Afghanistan .
There is no groups like Hizb ullah, Mehdi Militia and Hydri Taliban in Kurram agency. What so ever is done and is currently going on is all due to adverse policies of Govt-. Both Sunni and Shai are living in the area form centuries. Previously it was Russia and now it is US in Afghanistan and the reason behind the unrest in tribal areas is the above two.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that in lower kurram like Bagan there are evidences of target killing but again Govt is doing this and intent behind this is to make AMAN LASKAR from Sunni as Govt is trying to awaking local against Militants as it seems that they are going out of the Govt hands. Second thing behind the target killing in this are is to use these areas as base camp of militants that they want to send to Afghanistan to fulfill it dream, and only for this the killing of local in sunni's dominated area has been started.Remember this area is linked with central Kurram, Sadda, and Orakzai agency and at the same time this area have easy access to Afghanistan Province like Khost, Paktia and Paktika and it only take 6 hours to Kabul.