Aid convoy reaches remote district in NW Pakistan after prolonged blockade amid sectarian violence

In a remote area of Pakistan's volatile northwest, a convoy of aid trucks carrying medicine, food, and other relief supplies arrived on Wednesday, destined for hundreds of thousands of besieged residents. A government spokesperson and local officials confirmed the delivery.

A main road leading to the Kurram district had been closed by authorities more than three months ago due to violent clashes between Shiite and Sunni tribes, resulting in at least 130 deaths. The aid convoy had been waiting for security clearance since Saturday, when gunmen fired on government vehicles and wounded several officials traveling to Kurram to oversee the aid distribution. Kurram is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Provincial government spokesman Muhammad Ali Saif stated on Wednesday that dozens of trucks and vehicles carrying food, medicine, tents, and other essential supplies had reached the Kurram district. This latest development comes two weeks after authorities, with the help of tribal elders, reached a ceasefire agreement in Kurram.

The road closures since October have severely hampered local residents' access to medicine, food, fuel, education, and work. Violence flared again on November 21 when gunmen ambushed a convoy, killing 52 people, mostly Shiite Muslims, over a land dispute. Shiite Muslims are dominant in parts of Kurram but are a minority in the rest of Pakistan, a Sunni-majority country. The region has a history of sectarian conflict, with Sunni militant groups previously attacking minority Shiite populations on multiple occasions.