LOWER KURRAM: The death toll in yesterday’s gun attack on passenger vans in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lower Kurram has risen to 42, while more than 30 people were injured, the local deputy commissioner said on Friday.

Kurram Deputy Commissioner (DC) Javedullah Mehsud confirmed the casualties, adding that the deceased included seven women and a nine-year-old girl.

Thursday’s attack had occurred in the Mandori Charkhel area, a region with a history of sectarian tensions and land disputes.

DC Mehsud said yesterday the convoy, consisting of some 200 vehicles, was on its way from Parachinar to Peshawar when it came under heavy gunfire. Separately, he had told AFP that two separate convoys of Shia passengers were targeted in two attacks.

Efforts were underway to save the lives of those injured, the DC said, stating the bodies of the deceased had been moved to Parachinar.

“We will try to restore the routine life as quickly as possible and then a grand jirga will be called,” DC Mehsud said, adding that schools and markets have been closed since the attack.

No group had immediately claimed responsibility for the incident.

Sources said that the attack, which occurred at around 1:20pm, appeared to be in retaliation for an Oct 12 assault that claimed 15 lives, including those of two women and a child. Local officials expressed concerns that the situation might escalate further, with tensions running high in the tribal district.

Kurram district, which borders Afghanistan, has long experienced sectarian violence, often fuelled by disputes over land ownership between communities.

The government had earlier appointed a land commission to resolve the matter. While the commission has reportedly submitted its findings, the government has yet to make the report public, citing sensitivities over the matter.

Speculation also surrounds the involvement of the banned terrorist group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has recently been active in Lower Kurram, prompting fears among the residents. But government officials attributed the incident to the ongoing land dispute, ruling out sectarian motives.

A tribal elder of Tori Bangash tribes, Jalal Bangash, urged authorities to immediately evacuate stranded passengers and take steps to ensure the safety of the injured.

Bangash and Alla­­ma Tajammal Hussain condemned the attack, stressing the failure of state institutions to sec­ure transportation routes despite previous peace efforts, including a mass march by locals from Parachinar to Islamabad.