Parachinar, December 22, 2024: At least 50 children have died in Parachinar due to a severe shortage of medical supplies following the closure of roads leading to the city. The roadblock, caused by violent clashes between rival tribes in the volatile Kurram tribal district, has also left thousands of residents stranded, officials reported.
The clashes, which have claimed at least 130 lives over the past month, have worsened food and medicine shortages in the region. The district, which borders Afghanistan, has long been plagued by tribal tensions over farmland, now reignited into deadly violence.
Dr. Zulfiqar Ali, a pediatrician at DHQ Hospital Parachinar, confirmed the alarming death toll in an interview on Sunday, citing a lack of essential medicines, medical oxygen, and heating equipment as primary factors. “The situation is worsening by the day,” he added.
Philanthropist Faisal Edhi echoed this grim assessment, stating that over 50 children have died due to the lack of treatment facilities in Parachinar’s hospitals.
Efforts to address the crisis have included the evacuation of at least 45 critically ill individuals to hospitals in Peshawar via air ambulances over the past four days, according to Edhi Foundation representative Saad Edhi. However, three of those patients succumbed to their conditions.
Saad Edhi emphasized that while his foundation continues to provide support, the scale of the crisis far exceeds what can be managed through air ambulance services alone. He called on the government to reopen transportation routes immediately to restore normalcy to the area.
