Shia Muslims chant slogans to condemn the killing of Shia Muslims by gunmen in an ambush in Kurram district during a demonstration in Lahore, Pakistan, on Friday (November 22, 2024).
| Photo Credit: AP

Protesters in Pakistan’s restive northwest chanted anti-government slogans, and tensions flared Friday (November 22, 2024) after funeral prayers were held for 42 Shia Muslims who were ambushed and killed by gunmen a day earlier in one of the region’s deadliest such assaults in recent years.

The victims were traveling in a convoy of several vehicles from the northwestern city of Parachinar to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, when the attack took place Thursday (November 21, 2024). Those killed included six women, and 20 others were injured.

Survivors said the assailants emerged from a vehicle and sprayed the buses and cars with bullets. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack and police have not identified a motive.

Thursday’s (November 21, 2024) attack took place in Kurram, an area where Shia Muslims dominate. Sectarian clashes between the group and Pakistan’s majority Sunni Muslims have killed dozens of people in recent months.

Tribal elder Jalal Bangash said the bodies began arriving in the city Thursday (November 21, 2024) evening. The Shia community group Anjuman Hussainia Parachinar announced three days of mourning.

Coffins were draped in white cloth that bore red calligraphy. It read “Labbaik ya Hussein,” a Shia expression in remembrance of the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein, that gave birth to their faith.

Locals carried the coffins aloft through Parachinar as people thronged the streets. Markets, shops, roads and schools were closed. Locals and relatives of the victims staged a sit-in, demanding action against the perpetrators.

Ali Ghulam lost his nephew in the attack.

“He was a very innocent and noble man, only 40, and left behind small kids,” said Ghulam. “He was working to feed his children; he never fought with anyone. Now we are worried about his family and what we will do for them.”

Protests kicked off in parts of the city, with people chanting anti-government slogans. Some people set alight check posts and the gate at the entrance of the city. Elders have called for calm.

A senior police officer said clashes flared after the Parachinar funerals between rival tribes in Kurram, 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Peshawar.

“Sunni and Shia tribes targeted each other’s positions in several areas of the district,” the officer said. “There are some casualties, but we do not have a confirmed number for the dead and injured,” the officer added. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Shia Muslims make up about 15% of the 240 million population of Sunni-majority Pakistan, which has a history of sectarian animosity between the communities.

Although the two groups generally live together peacefully, tensions have existed for decades in some areas, especially in parts of Kurram.

Dozens of people from both sides have been killed since July, when a land dispute erupted in Kurram that later turned into general sectarian violence.

Pakistan Military official. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Gunmen opened fire on passenger vehicles carrying Shia Muslims in Pakistan’s restive northwest on Thursday (November 21, 2024), killing at least 38 people, including six women, and wounding 20 others in one of the region’s deadliest such attacks in recent years, police said.

The attack happened in Kurram, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where sectarian clashes between majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shia have killed dozens of people in recent months.

No one has claimed responsibility. The latest violence came a week after authorities reopened a key highway in the region after keeping it closed for weeks following deadly clashes.

Local police official Azmat Ali said several vehicles carrying passengers were traveling in a convoy from the city of Parachinar to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when gunmen opened fire.

He said at least 10 passengers were in a critical condition at a hospital.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack and offered his condolences to the families of the victims. He ordered authorities to take action against those who orchestrated the attack.

Baqir Haideri, a local Shia leader, denounced the assault, saying “the terrorists martyred our innocent people after identifying them.”

He said the death toll from the attack is likely to rise.

Shia Muslims make up about 15% of the 240 million population of Sunni-majority Pakistan, which has a history of sectarian animosity between the two communities.

Although they live together largely peacefully in the country, tensions have existed for decades in some areas, especially in parts of Kurram, where Shia dominate.

Nearly 50 people from the two sides were also killed over a land dispute in July when clashes between Sunni and Shia erupted in Kurram.

Pakistan is currently carrying out intelligence-based operations to tackle violence in the northwest and southwest, where militants and separatists often target police, troops and civilians. Most violence in these areas has been blamed on the Pakistani Taliban and the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army.