Parachinar/Hungu: Although a convoy of vehicles carrying essential goods arrived in Karam recently, the district is still facing a shortage of essential commodities and residents have appealed to the government to step up relief efforts to ease their suffering. demanded.
Residents said that they are suffering from shortage of food, medicine and daily necessities.
More than 100 villages of Parachinar city, Bushehra and Upper Karam have been cut off due to road closure. Essential commodities like cooking oil, gas and groceries are in short supply.
Imdad Ali, a local businessman, said that while a limited supply of goods arrived in Parachinar, the area needed more than 500 trucks of essential items to meet the demand.
Efforts have been made to deal with the crisis, with 10 trucks of relief supplies sent to Baghan in Lower Karam, 30 trucks to Parachinar, and additional supplies to Bushehra, Muqbal and Teri Mangal. However, these efforts are failing to meet the growing needs of the population.
The Gwadar tribe of central Karam reported that over 200 families have been displaced due to the unrest but have yet to receive any relief package or assistance.
Karam Deputy Commissioner Ashfaq Khan admitted the seriousness of the situation and said that more convoys are being organized to deliver the necessary goods. He said that steps are being taken to solve the problems faced by the people.
Meanwhile, the main road connecting Thal to Parachinar remained closed for the seventh consecutive day due to the sit-in in Mandori area of Lower Karam. Due to the blockade, more than 40 vehicles are stuck in Thal Doaba, awaiting clearance to transport essential goods to Karam and Parachinar.
This area has been in the grip of unrest for three months. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government dispatched a convoy to Parachinar and surrounding areas on January 8 as a relief measure. However, 40 to 50 vehicles of the convoy carrying food and other goods remained stranded in Thal Doaba.
A second convoy may be dispatched in a day or two, government sources said, as talks were underway between Mandori protesters and senior officials, including GOC 9th Division Major General Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti and Kohat Divisional Commissioner Mohtasim Ballah.
Meanwhile, a separate protest demonstration was held in Hangu demanding steps to restore peace in Karam.
The protesters, led by Maulana Zafarur Rehman and others, marched from Pukhta Shao Road to Hangu Press Club and demanded immediate steps to deal with the ongoing violence in the area.