At least 18 were killed as a result of sectarian violence in Pakistan
Peshawar – Agencies:
Officials in Pakistan said that at least 18 people were killed and 30 others were injured in renewed sectarian violence in the northwest of the country, as tensions rise in the wake of attacks on passenger vehicles that killed dozens of civilians last week.
Nadeem Aslam Chowdhury, an official in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said that the latest violence broke out in a tribal area when gunmen attacked a village. They “set fire to gas stations and vandalized property to take revenge for what happened.”
He added that he and senior police officials would visit the area and communicate with tribal elders from both sides to restore order. The death toll has risen to 58 since Thursday.
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on passenger vehicles on Thursday, killing more than 40 people in the Kurram district, where Shiite and Sunni militants have been fighting for decades over territory near the Afghan border.
Officials said that most of the dead were Shiites, prompting armed groups to retaliate with attacks, while markets and schools remained closed in a state similar to a curfew.
A police official, who requested to remain anonymous, said that the death toll from the latest violence would have been higher if residents of the village that was attacked had not evacuated their homes in anticipation of more violence. He added that residents of Bagan village have already left their homes and moved to safe places in the lower Kurram area.
