At least 50 children have died in the Surrum district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, as a result of road blockages caused by tribal conflicts, local media reported.
For more than a month, clashes between rival tribes have paralyzed life in the Kurram district, leaving thousands of people stranded in Parachinar, the district’s largest city. The violence, which has claimed at least 130 lives, has created severe shortages of food, medicine, and essential supplies, compounding the region’s humanitarian crisis.
The renewed tribal conflict stems from long-standing disputes over farmland in the area, which lies on the border with Afghanistan. Residents told Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper, that government efforts to mediate have failed to restore order or reopen critical transportation routes.
Dr. Zulfiqar Ali, a pediatrician at the District Headquarters Hospital in Parachinar, said 51 children had died as of Sunday due to a lack of essential medicines. He warned that the crisis could deepen, citing the hospital’s dwindling supply of medical oxygen and heating equipment.
“The situation is deteriorating rapidly,” Dr. Ali said.
In the past four days, at least 45 critically ill patients have been evacuated to hospitals in Peshawar, the provincial capital, via air ambulances, according to Saad Edhi of the Edhi Foundation, a major Pakistani humanitarian organization. However, Edhi noted that the airlift operations are a stopgap solution.
“The government must reopen the blocked routes immediately,” Edhi said. “The scale of the problem cannot be solved with air ambulances alone.”
Despite the road closures, the Edhi Foundation has managed to deliver 2,000 kilograms of medical supplies to the region, Edhi added.
Ali Hadi Irfani, a provincial assembly member from Kurram, echoed these calls for urgent action, criticizing the government for what he described as misplaced priorities.
“Rather than focusing on unnecessary decisions, the government should immediately ensure that transportation routes are reopened,” Irfani said.
