PARACHINAR: People in Kurram district of Parachinar are facing severe difficulties due to the continued closure of the Parachinar-Till main road since October 12. The road blockages have caused a dire shortage of food, medicines, fuel, and other necessities of life.
Keeping the humanitarian crisis in mind, Faisal Edhi visited Parachinar. He was warmly received at the Benazir Airport in Parachinar by the local elders, workers of welfare organisations, and officials of the district administration.
No respite for Kurram, as road blockages persist
Later, Faisal Edhi made a statement, saying that there is a severe shortage of food items and medicines in the region. He also announced that the Edhi Foundation has started an air ambulance service for the patients in the area.
“The air ambulance service has been started in consultation with the health department,” he said, adding that the critical patients would be transferred from Benazir Airport to Peshawar.
SITUATION IN KURRAM
The road linking Parachinar to other districts has been closed for over two months, which has made it difficult for its nearly 400,000 residents to carry out their daily lives. The situation has become even worse in the past few weeks, as the fresh fruits and vegetables have disappeared from the city because of supply disruptions. There is also severe shortage of fuel, firewood, and other essentials such as medicines.
Speaking to HUM News, locals said that there is an increased risk of deaths as the weather gets more severe while the medicines are not being provided to the hospitals. Rising cold and lack of quality treatment is adding to the difficulties of the medical staff, hospital sources said. Two minors have already succumbed to pneumonia in the last two days, hospital sources said.
KP CM orders immediate supply of wheat, flour to violence-struck Kurram
A grand Jirga has been going on in Kohat for a week for lasting peace and order. However, a consensus is yet to be reached.
Last week, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had ordered the provincial food authority to immediately provide Kurram with wheat and flour, and to resolve the growing food crisis.