Over Half a Million Trapped as Road Closures Cripple Life in Kurram District

The dire situation has triggered a protest sit-in outside the Parachinar Press Club, where citizens are demanding urgent action.

PARACHINAR – More than 500,000 residents of Upper and Lower Kurram have been cut off from essential services, including food, medical care, and fuel, due to the continued closure of main roads and the Afghan border amid security concerns, ongoing firing, and clashes over the past six and a half months. The dire situation has triggered a protest sit-in outside the Parachinar Press Club, where citizens are demanding urgent action.

Protesters said the blockade has left entire communities trapped, with severe shortages of food and fuel and no access to medical treatment, paralyzing daily life across the region.

Addressing the sit-in, social activist Musarrat Bangash and tribal elder Malik Zartaj revealed that due to the absence of medical facilities, more than 600 people—many of them children—have lost their lives so far.

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The protest leaders vowed to continue the sit-in until the government opens the blocked routes, announces a martyr's package for the victims, and delivers emergency relief to those affected.

Meanwhile, Member of the National Assembly and Parliamentary Leader of Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, Engineer Hamid Hussain, expressed disappointment over the continued road closures despite a peace agreement between rival groups. He noted that not only are people deprived of food and medicines, but schools are also shut down due to fuel shortages.

Hussain called on the federal government and international organizations to provide immediate relief to the affected communities, restore road access, and take urgent steps to ensure the safety and security of the region’s residents.