Pakistan: MWM leader declares 3-day national mourning after deadly Kurram terror attack

Karachi [Pakistan], November 23, (ANI): Following the deadly Kurram terror attack, the central chairman of the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen Pakistan (MWM) Allama Raja Nasir Abbas Jafri declared three days of national mourning, Dawn reported.
On Friday, protests and rallies took place throughout the Sindh province, echoing those in other major cities across Pakistan, to condemn the assault on a convoy of passenger vehicles in Lower Kurram, which led to the deaths of at least 42 individuals Dawn reported.
The violence was the latest to rock Kurram, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, just days after a deadly attack on a convoy in the same area killed dozens of people.
The party organized protest rallies and demonstrations in Karachi, Hyderabad, and Sukkur, where MWM leaders vehemently condemned the Parachinar tragedy.
The speakers mourned the loss of precious lives in the terrorist attack on passenger buses travelling from Parachinar to Peshawar, calling it a national tragedy. Allama Ahmed Iqbal Rizvi stated that the attacks on the buses, occurring despite the presence of security forces, were part of a well-orchestrated conspiracy.
"This is not the first terrorist incident in Parachinar," he remarked, noting that the killing of innocent people in Kurram Agency had been ongoing for a long time. He stated that Kurram Agency had repeatedly been targeted by ISIS, the Taliban, and internal Khawarij militants.
"The occurrence of such terrorist attacks in the presence of a security convoy highlights the incompetence of national security institutions," he added.
Speaking to the protesters at Jamia Masjid Noor Iman, Allama Baqir Abbas Zaidi urged the federal government to recognize the martyrdom of innocent citizens as a national tragedy and declare a national day of mourning.
He called for the swift recovery of the passengers who went missing in the incident and demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible for the attack.
According to the report, Jamaat-i-Islami leader Hafiz Naeemur Rehman suggested the formation of a grand jirga in Parachinar to address sectarian tensions in the area, offering his party's assistance in this effort. Speaking at a press conference at Idara Noor-i-Haq, he stated that the tragedy was part of a deliberate conspiracy aimed at intensifying divisions within society.
He emphasized that the issue was not a Shia-Sunni conflict, but rather an attempt by certain forces to destabilize both society and the country. He described the incident as a major failure of the government and law enforcement agencies. He blamed former president General Pervez Musharraf and the so-called war on terrorism for the current situation.
He stated that the tribes, once seen as a support for Pakistan's army, suffered due to the policies implemented by Musharraf, which led to terrorism, destruction, loss of lives and property, as well as long-term negative consequences. (ANI)