Sectarian clashes claim nearly 80 lives in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan 

Officials in northwestern Pakistan reported on Saturday that a government delegation has begun efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between rival Sunni and Shiite Muslim tribes following armed clashes that resulted in nearly 80 deaths this week.

The sectarian conflict in Kurram district, which borders Afghanistan, flared up Thursday when heavily armed men from the Sunni tribe ambushed multiple passenger vehicles and killed at least 45 Shi'ites, including men, women, and children.

On Friday, Shi'ite community members conducted revenge attacks against the Sunni-dominated village where the ambush had taken place, killing at least 33 people and wounding dozens of others. The attackers set petrol stations on fire and damaged markets as well as homes.

A spokesman for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Kurram is located, announced Saturday that a high-powered government delegation had flown into the turbulent district center, Parachinar, and met with Shi'ite community leaders there.

Muhammad Ali Saif said in a late-night video statement that the meetings were "positive" and efforts were being made to "resolve all disputes amicably to end the tension." He added that the delegation plans to talk with Sunni community leaders in the next stage.

"Our top priority is to broker a cease-fire and establish a lasting peace in the district," said Saif, also part of the government delegation.

The Pakistani border district is known for deadly Shi'ite-Sunni sectarian violence, which stems from long-running land disputes.

A land dispute sparked weeks of clashes in Kurram earlier this year, killing more than 100 people between August and October this year. The fighting had compelled provincial authorities to halt all traffic to and from the district until earlier this month when tribal elders brokered a temporary cease-fire between the opposing factions.

This week's clashes have once again halted traffic on the sole road connecting the district — which has a population of approximately 800,000 — to the provincial capital of Peshawar.

The violence in Kurram comes amid a marked increase in militant attacks against Pakistani security forces in multiple districts near or along the Afghan border.

Officials say the violence this month in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan, has resulted in the deaths of dozens of security personnel, including troops.