PESHAWAR: Security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district have arrested 11 militants involved in an attack on a relief convoy in the Ochit area, officials said.
The suspects were apprehended from different parts of Kurram, while efforts are ongoing to locate other individuals involved in the attack.
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Earlier, the provincial government had announced bounties for the arrest of those responsible for the attack. The suspected militants are reportedly from Bagan, Watezai, and Haroon Mela areas.
A government statement said that bounties worth Rs130 million had been placed on 14 suspected militants. The head money for one of the key suspects, Kazim, was set at Rs30 million, while bounties for three others ranged between Rs1 million and Rs10 million.
The attack on February 17 resulted in the deaths of five security personnel who were attempting to safeguard the relief convoy.
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The fresh wave of attacks has endangered the fragile peace in the crisis-hit region, which had only revived hopes for a long lasting peace after a recent ceasefire agreement.
Due to the violence and security concerns, the Thall-Parachinar road, the only land route connecting Kurram to the rest of the country, remains closed.
Since the start of the year, relief convoys escorted by heavy security have been supplying aid to the area following the ceasefire agreement between rival factions.
In response to the latest attack, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to launch a major operation against the perpetrators and evacuate four villages—Ochit, Mandori, Dad Kamar, and Bagan.
According to the spokesperson of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, a high-level meeting was held on the situation in Kurram district, which decided to take strictest action against the elements involved in the firing incident in Lower Kurram.
Moreover, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had said that both internal and external forces are at play with regards to the worsening situation in Kurram valley. He dubbed the matter as a sectarian issue stressing that the crisis goes back 130 years.
“Weapons are being supplied to Kurram and all miscreants and terrorists will be brought to justice. The problem is Kurram valley is the roots are sectarian and foreign elements are involved. Those responsible for the violence will not be spared,” he added.