Pakistan Launches Security Operation After Sectarian Violence Escalates
Pakistani officials said on Monday that security forces launched an operation targeting militants in a troubled region in the northwest of the country, near the Afghan border, after escalating attacks and sectarian violence, marking the first large-scale operation in the area in recent years.
The latest attack occurred last Friday in the Kurram region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when unknown militants attacked and burned aid trucks, killing two security personnel and at least five drivers.
The region has been isolated from the rest of the country since November after authorities closed roads following clashes between armed Shiite and Sunni tribes. At that time, militants ambushed a convoy of vehicles carrying passengers, killing 52 people, mostly Shiite. Retaliatory attacks have resulted in more than 70 deaths.
Hundreds of thousands of residents have faced food and medicine shortages since then due to the inability of aid organizations to access the area.
Saeed Ali, a spokesman for the provincial government, said the operation became “inevitable” due to the rise in violence.
He added that authorities are moving some residents to temporary government shelters while the operation continues in several areas, including the town of Bajaur, where most of the violence has occurred.
Mutasim Allah, another government official, said the goal of the operation is to fully restore peace and ensure the authority of the government. Shiite Muslims dominate parts of Kurram, though they are a minority in the rest of the predominantly Sunni Pakistan. The area has a history of sectarian conflicts, with Sunni extremist groups targeting the Shiite minority.
