At least 13 people have been killed in clashes in northwest Pakistan where a fresh bout of Takfiri violence has targeted Shia Muslims.
A deadly attack last week in Pakistan’s northwest tribal region bordering Afghanistan on a passenger convoy traveling from Parachinar to Peshawar has sparked widespread outrage and triggered clashes.
The Takfiri attack on the convoy, which included killing women and children, has raised suspicions among tribes.
A local official in Kurram district on Saturday attributed the tense situation to Takfiri terrorists operating in the restive tribal regions.
The government official said in the past two days 13 more people, mostly Shias, had been killed in new attacks, raising the total death toll since last week to 124.
Attacks on Shia Muslims in the past have been carried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The Kurram district is located west of Peshawar and leads into the Paktia, Logar and Nangarhar provinces of eastern Afghanistan.
The Shia Muslim community in Pakistan has called on Islamabad to take immediate action to stop the ongoing massacre in the restive northwestern and unsafe parts of the country.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a letter of condolences last Thursday, expressed sympathy with the Pakistani government and nation, as well as the bereaved families of the victims of the attacks.
