The first convoy carrying food items and relief supplies reached restive Kurram district's Parachinar of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after days-long delay, said Deputy CommissionerAshfaq Khan on Wednesday.
In a video statement, DC Khan welcomed the peaceful arrival of the aid convoy. Herequested the people to cooperate with the law enforcement agenciesand maintain peace.
KP government's spokesperson Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said that the 40vehicles carrying relief items had been dispatched after successful negotiationswith local protesters.
The Grand Jirga, Kurram Peace Committee and local peace committees played a key role in the negotiations, said the spokesperson.
Meanwhile,Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Zahid Usman Kakakhel said the people were happyafter the convoy reached Parachinar peacefully.
Like aid convoy, the ADC said a step should be taken for a convoy of passengers to ease the difficulties of citizens.
The development comes after theParachinar aid convoy, which was scheduled to be sent last week, wasstalled following an attack on Kurram DC Javedullah Mehsud in the Bagan area which resulted in five people being wounded along with the DC.
Following the attack, Barrister Saif said that the convoy will be sent once theconditions are back to normal.
The development came against the backdrop of an acute shortage of medicines and other essential items in the district which was declared "disaster hit" last month by the KP government amid tribal clashes which have resulted in over 200 fatalities since July 2024.
The prolonged road closures, attributed to security concerns by the provincial government, have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis faced by Kurram's over 600,000 residents.
The convoy's departure came after the two warring tribes signed a peace agreement on Wednesday last week aimed at establishing peace.
The 14-point accord requires the surrendering of weapons as well as the dismantlement of bunkers with a committee set to be constituted within 15 days — to be counted from the day of the signing of the peace deal — to start implementing the agreement.
Kurram, a district of more than 600,000 residents near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, has long been a hotspot for sectarian violence. But recent months have seen escalating tensions, with clashes since July to date leaving over 200 people dead.
The recent clashes exacerbated a humanitarian crisis in the district, with medicine and oxygen supplies running critically low due to the prolonged closure of the main highway linking Parachinar to Peshawar.
In addition to the ongoing sit-in at the Parachinar Press Club, the road closures had also sparked protests in Karachi. A separate protest was also staged in Bagan, in the lower part of Kurram, against damage to shops and homes in the area.
Protesters had demanded the reopening of roads and assistance for affected individuals. However, district administration officials cited security concerns, including recent firing on passenger vehicles and tribal clashes, as the reason for the closures.
Reports suggested that over 100 children may have died from a severe shortage of medicine, though Barrister Saif denied these claims.
The district was declared "disaster-hit" by the provincial government with authorities airlifting medical supplies to the area and evacuating people in critical need.