It was NEVER to do with the west or the Zionists - it has always been about Muslims killing Muslims

 

Proxy militias – the Iran-backed Zainebiyoun Brigade on the Shia side, and the TTP, the Afghan Taliban’s brother group, on the Sunni side – are quick to escalate. Drives the Recurring Deadly Sectarian Violence in Pakistan’s Kurram District.

What Happened: Violence is on the uptick in Pakistan. While terrorist attacks by the Pakistani Taliban and Baloch militant groups attract most of the attention, there’s another form of violence at play: sectarian conflict between Pakistan’s Shia and Sunni communities. And nowhere is that risk higher than in Kurram, the only district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in which the Shia community is in the majority. At least 130 people were killed in the latest outbreak of sectarian violence in late November, and many analysts are doubtful that a fragile ceasefire announced in December will last.

Our Focus: Kurram district, especially its central town, Parachinar, has a long history of recurring sectarian violence, dating back to before Pakistan’s independence. From 2007 to 2011 alone, some 2,000 people, mostly Shiites, were killed. In Kurram, sectarian tensions combine with inter-tribal grievances and land disputes, making for a toxic combination where both Shia and Sunni residents see the other side as an existential threat. “Every other week, we have a dispute over land that leads to fighting, which engulfs the entire district. During these times, we cannot do anything because everything shuts down, and at times, we are close to starving,” one local resident explained. Further inflaming the situation, proxy militias – the Iran-backed Zainebiyoun Brigade on the Shia side, and the TTP, the Afghan Taliban’s brother group, on the Sunni side – are quick to escalate.

What Comes Next: While the violence had been around for decades, like other conflicts within Pakistan, the situation in Kurram has dramatically worsened in the past three years. “The scale and intensity of conflict over land disputes in Kurram has escalated, driven by an influx of advanced American weapons left behind by retreating Afghan forces,” Zai Ur Rehman, a journalist and researcher covering sectarian violence in Pakistan, told The Diplomat. It’s unlikely Pakistan’s government can find the will to address the situation, given pressing security concerns around the country. In the meantime, locals in Kurram are left to mourn their dead and fear for their futures. “This senseless killing has taken countless lives, and there is no end in sight to it,” lamented one local shopkeeper, who lost his brother in the recent violence.