ISLAMABAD: While both the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments have yet to ensure safe routes for stranded residents of Parachinar in Kurram Agency, the Edhi Foundation has stepped in to airlift humanitarian aid to the violence-hit region.
Aid flights landed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Parachinar city in Kurram district on Tuesday, where thousands remain stranded due to ongoing clashes that have claimed at least 130 lives since last month. Scores have been wounded, and many displaced as heavy exchanges of fire and arson persist in the area. The clashes erupted after an attack on a convoy on November 21, which left at least 43 people dead.
Residents have reported severe shortages of food and medicine in parts of Kurram district, which borders Afghanistan, as authorities struggle to quell a feud between tribes over decades-old farmland disputes.
Faisal Edhi, chairman of the Edhi Foundation and son of the late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, arrived in Parachinar on Tuesday via the Edhi Air Ambulance to assess the situation and oversee relief efforts.
“I have personally come to evaluate the difficulties faced by residents and ensure that aid reaches those in need,” Faisal Edhi told media representatives. He highlighted the critical role of the Edhi Air Ambulance in delivering essential medical supplies from Peshawar to Parachinar, where access remains blocked due to security concerns.
Faisal added that the air ambulance would also be used to transport critically injured patients to Peshawar for treatment, addressing the lack of healthcare services in the area.
Upon arrival at Parachinar Airport, Faisal was welcomed by local officials before proceeding to the regional hospital to coordinate relief operations. Sher Gul, Edhi’s local representative, told the media that the Foundation plans to conduct multiple flights daily from Peshawar to Parachinar for the rest of the week, depending on weather conditions.
“We aim to transport at least three injured individuals on each flight and deliver urgently needed medicines for those wounded,” Sher Gul stated.
Since the clashes began, several temporary truces have been announced as tribal elders negotiate a lasting resolution. However, the government has shut down key roads in and out of the district and suspended mobile and internet services to contain the violence.
According to official figures, at least 133 people have been killed and 177 injured since November 21. Earlier, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that 79 people were killed in the region between July and October this year.
Kurram, part of the semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas until its merger with KP in 2018, remains prone to violence fueled by land disputes and longstanding tribal tensions in the rugged mountainous region.
News/pic Courtesy AFP
