The Pakistani government on November 24 said its mediation team had reached agreement on a seven-day cease-fire among warring sectarian groups in the northwest of the country, looking to end clashes that have killed more than 80 people.
Mohammad Ali Saif, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa information minister and government spokesman, told news agencies that Shi'ite and Sunni leaders had agreed to halt attacks for at least a seven-day period as a longer-lasting solution was sought.
The violence between Sunni and Shi'ite groups in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province began on November 21 after gunmen opened fire on a convoy of vehicles carrying Shi'ite Muslims, killing at least 38 people.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of deadly confrontations in Kurram.
Police said armed men torched shops, houses, and government property before a government delegation arrived in the area seeking to defuse the crisis.
SEE ALSO: Pakistani Capital Locked Down, Internet Partially Suspended Ahead Of Protest"The clashes and convoy attacks on November 21, 22, and 23 have resulted in 82 fatalities and 156 injuries," a local administration official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He added that among the dead were 16 were Sunni and 66 Shi’ite members of the community.
Prior to announcement of the truce agreement, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi said that "our priority today is to broker a cease-fire between both sides. Once that is achieved, we can begin addressing the underlying issues."
The delegation arrived on November 23 and met with Shi’ite leaders, then held talks with Sunni leaders on November 24, an official said.
Sunnis and Shi'a living in Kurram have clashed over land, forests, and other property as well as religion over the years, despite government and law enforcement efforts to build peace.
Minority Shi'ite Muslims have long complained of discrimination and violence in Sunni-majority Pakistan.