Bounty announced for terrorists involved in Kurram violence

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Saturday announced head money —from Rs3m to Rs30m — on 14 terrorists involved in the recent violence in the Kurram district.

Kurram has been wracked by violence for decades, but around 150 people have been killed in a fresh round of fighting which started in November last year when two separate convoys travelling under police escort were ambushed, leaving 40 people dead.

In a statement, the CTD claimed the accused were involved in the assimilation of over 200 people, adding that all the terrorists were associated with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Meanwhile, the CTD also released their pictures and names, saying that a monetary reward would be given to those citizens who provide credible information about the accused.

“Terrorists are involved in looting, arson, siege, and killing children and women,” the CTD added.

It further said that the accused were involved in sectarian violence in KP’s Kurram district.

In a setback to peace efforts in the restive region, the assistant commissioner (AC) of Boshehra was injured as a result of firing by unidentified attackers in January.

However, after law enforcers’ efforts, peace was restored, and essential supplies also started coming into Kurram, which was cut off from the rest of the country for months.

As part of the peace efforts, 25 more bunkers were demolished in the upper and lower parts of Kurram last month, raising the number of destroyed trenches to 80. The process of dismantling tribal bunkers began after the peace agreement.

On the other hand, Provincial Disaster Management Authority District Coordinator Shiraz Bacha said the distribution of compensation cheques was ongoing for the families of Bagan victims and passenger vehicles.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (Relief) Maqsood Khan distributed cheques worth Rs1 million each to the families of 14 more victims. So far, Rs60 million in compensation had been distributed among victims of terrorism-related incidents in Kurram, while data collection for other affected persons was still in progress.