2024 Kurram massacre

On 21 November 2024, gunmen attacked a large convoy of vehicles transporting Shiite Muslims in the Kurram District of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. They killed at least fifty people and injured thirty others. Khyber Pakhtukwha has a long border with Afghanistan.

The attack was one of northwestern Pakistan's deadliest incidents of sectarian violence in recent years. The attack was described as a "terrorist attack" by Pakistani authorities.

Most people in Pakistan are Muslims. Most of these are Sunnites, but in some areas, there are also large groups of Shiites. There were a number of incidents in the past, where different Muslim groups in Pakistan attacked each other. Such incidents are usually called sectarian violence. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa there are also areas with larger groups of Shiites. One of these areas is Kurram. 

Four people carried out the attack. They shot at a convoy of over 200 vehicles, travelling m Parachinar to Peshawar. Most people in the convoy were Shiites.

Sunni and Shia Muslims are in conflict in the region over a dispute over land. Half of the population of the Kurram region are Shiite Muslims, while the majority of Pakistan are Sunni Muslims.

Pakistan's leadership responded imnediately: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi categorized it as a terrorist attack, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari issued strong condemnations and promises of justice against the parties responsible. Heightened security measures were implemented. Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, called the attack a "major tragedy" and said the death toll was likely to rise.

Local Shiite leaders criticized authorities for failing to provide adequate security despite recent threats against the Shiite community. Several shop owners in Parachinar went on strike in protest against regional violence.

 References 

Category:2020s mass shootings in Asia
Category:Religious violence