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Over 100 children have died due to the lack of medical facilities in the Parachinar area of Kurram Agency.

A sit-in of protesting citizens against the closure of roads- giving rise to a humanitarian crisis in the region- has entered its sixth day. 

Geo News quotes tehsil chairman Upper Kurram Agha Muzammil, who said, “Due to the closure of roads, citizens are deprived of food and treatment, and more than 100 children have died due to lack of medical facilities.”

The same concern was expressed by Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) and Jafria Alliance on Tuesday as they highlighted the plight of the region, stating that a humanitarian crisis had been unfolding there, affecting not only Shia population but people of all faiths.

They asked the federal and provincial governments to solve the ongoing crisis in Parachinar.

To express solidarity with the people of the troubled region, the Majlis-e-Wahdat Muslimeen held a protest sit-in at Karachi’s Numaish Chowrangi and Lahore Press Club.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Advisor to Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Barrister Saif, addressed the issue of the closure of roads by saying that the establishment of a special police force has been approved for the Parachinar Road while the government’s measures are aimed at a sustainable and permanent solution to the century-old conflict in the area.

On Monday, the social activist Faisal Edhi stated that more than 50 children had died in the hospitals in Parachinar due to a lack of facilities.

However, at least 45 people in critical condition were moved to different hospitals in the provincial capital from Kurram via air ambulances as resources remained scarce. 

“The government should open the routes by tonight so that normalcy can be brought back to the area,” Saad Edhi said, stressing that around 2,000kg worth of medicines supplies were delivered to the area.

Ali Hadi Irfani, an MPA from Kurram, told Dawn that rather than concerning itself with “unnecessary decisions”, the government should immediately open transportation routes.

Clashes between warring tribes over the past two and a half months has resulted in hundreds of deaths so far. All major and minor roads in the district have been closed, including Sadda Road, the main artery linking Parachinar to other regions of Kurram.

DC Kurram has said that the Grand Jirga has reached Kurram and is starting negotiations today to establish peace in the area.

Pakistan targeted Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) camps late Tuesday night with airstrikes in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province, reportedly killing and wounding multiple suspected terrorists.

Dawn News reported that Pakistani fighter jets targeted TTP camps in the Murgha and Laman areas of the Bernal district in Afghanistan.

Journalist Anas Mallick posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Pakistan in its reported precision strikes deep inside Afghanistan has targeted 4 TTP camps and also the office of Umar Media, the TTPs media arm — Second strikes that Pakistan has done inside Afghanistan this year, had also airstriked deep inside Afghanistan in March this year.”

An X post by the Afghan Defence Ministry also confirmed Pakistan’s targeted attack. However, it claimed that the fatalities from Pakistan’s airstrikes included a number of children and other civilians.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers this a brutal act against all international principles and blatant aggression and strongly condemns it,” the ministry said.

Interestingly, the strikes came on the same day that a Pakistani delegation, led by Special Representative Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq, met Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi in Kabul to resume diplomatic dialogue after a year.

The Pakistani cross-border strike also follows the martyrdom of sixteen Pakistan Army soldiers on December 21, when terrorists attacked a checkpost in Makeen, South Waziristan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Since 2022, Pakistan has experienced a sharp rise in terrorist attacks across the country, particularly in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Journalist Anas Mallick also posted on X: “By going deep inside Afghanistan for the second time this year and targeting terror sanctuaries, Pakistan has made it clear that it will target terrorist camps regardless of their location and proximity. #Pakistan”

According to the Interior Ministry, in the past 10 months, 948 out of 1,566 reported terrorism incidents occurred in KP, resulting in 583 deaths (out of a total of 924 martyrs).

This is the second time in 2024 that Pakistan has targeted TTP camps inside Afghanistan. Previously, it launched two airstrikes into Afghanistan’s Paktika and Khost provinces in March, targeting multiple terrorist hideouts.

Analyst Michael Kugelman took to X to post: “Pakistan has reportedly launched air strikes in Afghanistan against TTP targets there. Just 3 days ago, the TTP claimed an attack in South Waziristan that killed 16 Pakistan troops. Islamabad suggested earlier this year that these cross-border CT operations will pick up.”

Another X account affiliated with Afghanistan’s interim government posted graphic pictures of dead children today with the caption: “Three children, among other civilians, have been martyred in Afghanistan’s Paktika province today in a Zionist Pakistani army attack. We will soon take its revenge, InshaAllah.”