Local Sunni and Shia armed groups have been clashing for decades, but recent fighting has left more than 30 people dead.
Pakistani officials have announced a seven-day ceasefire between rival sectarian groups after days of clashes in the country’s northwestern region left dozens dead.
Violence between the two groups began on Thursday after gunmen attacked a civilian convoy, killing at least 40 people, mainly Shia Muslims. In retaliation, residents of Khurram district targeted Sunni Muslims.
Local Shiite and Sunni Muslims have been locked in a sectarian rivalry for decades over a land dispute in Khuram district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border.
Following the violence, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government spokesman Muhammad Ali Saif, a member of the mediation team, said Sunday that the two sides had agreed to a seven-day ceasefire.
“They will also exchange prisoners and return bodies to each other,” Saif said.
He added that the ceasefire announcement should stop many more minor clashes reported in remote parts of the region.
The mediation team flew to Khurram’s main city, Parachinar, on Saturday to meet Shia and Sunni leaders. The region was under virtual curfew in many villages, with armed groups roaming the streets.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s police chief Akhtar Hayat Gandpur and other members of the mediation team said Shiite leaders were demanding the immediate arrest of those involved in attacks on civilian vehicles and compensation for the victims.
The Pakistani government has yet to publicly identify the attackers and no one has claimed responsibility.
On Sunday morning, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Attorney General Aftab Alam Afridi said that once a ceasefire was agreed, “we can start dealing with the fundamental issues.”
sectarian violence
At least 16 people, including three women and two children, were killed in clashes between two armed groups in Khurram last month.
Police have struggled to control violence in the region, which was part of the semi-autonomous federally administered tribal areas until merging with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018.
However, Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission said 79 people were killed in sectarian violence between July and October.
The fighting in July and September ended only after the tribal council called for a ceasefire.
On Friday, hundreds of people protested against the violence in Karachi and Lahore.
