Former federal minister Sajid Hussain Turi on Sunday said that at least 128 children had died in Parachinar since the conflict started almost three months ago due to the lack of resources.
Kurram has remained cut off from the rest of the country due to violent tribal clashes that began there in November, claiming more than 100 lives. All roads in Kurram, including the Parachinar-Peshawar highway, have remained closed to traffic since Nov 21 after a vehicular convoy was attacked in the Bagan area, in which at least 50 people were killed.
However, in a statement posted on X on December 27, the federal government announced that one tonne of medication was transported to Parachinar by helicopter despite the blockade.“The sick brothers and sisters were transported to Islamabad in the same helicopters in which medicines were delivered by NDMA,” the statement read.
The attack triggered the worst clashes in the district, which resulted in the killing of scores of people from both sides. The conflict escalated when two people were killed and later decapitated after being waylaid on their way towards Parachinar in the Bagan area of Kurram.
A grand jirga convened in Kohat late on Saturday night, including local officials, former lawmakers and tribal elders, held multiple sessions but deferred the agreement. A protest has been ongoing in the area for the past 10 days.
While speaking to DawnNewsTV yesterday, the former minister said that the number of children who have died at the district headquarters hospital (DHQ) in Kurram since the conflict began has reached 37.“If you accumulate figures from all the hospitals in the surrounding areas, this figure goes up to 128 [children], who died over the last 85 days,” Turi said.
According to a list issued by a local civil society, seen by Dawn.com, a total of 128 children had passed away due to a lack of medicines in the area in the past.Turi said that given the road was closed for 85 days, the hospitals are in bad condition, the schools are closed, there is no petrol and no gas.
