The Kurram region of Pakistan has witnessed a dangerous escalation in sectarian violence, where two people were killed and at least 20 others injured as a result of attacks by extremist Sunni tribes on their Shia counterparts.
According to observers and human rights groups, this development reflects the failure of the country’s authorities to provide adequate protection for its citizens.
Despite the minimal intervention by local security forces, intermittent gunfire continues. Additionally, three rockets were reported to have fallen in the town of Sada, located in central Kurram, causing significant damage to its infrastructure.
Sources indicate that the conflict originally erupted over a land dispute, which intensified after the Shia community in the town filed a legal case against Sunni representatives for labeling the followers of Ahlulbayt as heretics and insulting Shia scholars and religious authorities.
The Shia community in Kurram has long suffered from chronic security weaknesses, as reflected in the ineffective response of Pakistani security agencies to the extremist threats they face.
