Sectarian Violence Kills Least 25 in Northwest Pakistan

Asia Pacific|Sectarian Violence Kills Least 25 in Northwest Pakistan

Violent clashes erupted overnight between Sunni and Shiite tribes in northwestern Pakistan, leaving at least 25 people dead and markets, homes and government properties in flames, officials and residents said on Saturday.

The violence occurred in Kurram, a scenic mountainous district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, which borders Afghanistan. It took place in the same area where gunmen ambushed convoys of vehicles on Thursday, killing 42 people, all Shia, despite the protection of security forces.

Pakistan is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, but Kurram’s population of 800,000 is nearly half Shiite Muslim, a dynamic that contributes to tribal and sectarian tensions. Officials and residents said that the violence started on Friday afternoon in parts of the district where Sunni and Shiite groups live close to each other.

Muhammad Shoaib, a resident of a Sunni-populated town where the Shiite convoys came under attack on Thursday, said that hundreds of heavily armed people from the rival sect had attacked the main market on Friday night and set fire to dozens of shops and houses.

“For hours on that night, heavy gunfire was exchanged between both sides, with large weapons being used freely,” said Mr. Shoaib, who on Friday morning had moved his family to stay with relatives in a neighboring district out of fear for their safety.

“We knew that there would be a retaliatory attack,” he said. “It’s a cycle of violence that we have been witnessing and suffering for years now.”