Stock of questions arises as not only banned militants disowned targeting of innocent civilians, including women and children, who were on way to home in Kurram city of Pakistan, but also the convoy was escorted by personnel of security forces. All personnel of security forces remained safe and sound, but the helpless and innocent civilians were shot and killed for undone sin.

On Friday, gunmen opened fire on convoys of Shia pilgrims, killing at least 42 people. Women and children were among the fatalities. The gunmen targeted two separate convoys traveling with police escorts from the Khurram district headquarter of Parachinar to Peshawar.

This is not the first ever incident but firing against vehicles and killings on the pretext of sectarian tension has been lingering on since a long, but the authorities concerned who are custodians of law and order in real terms are playing sectarian rather than maintaining law and order in the area.

Retired Inspector General Police, Syed Irshad Hussian Shah is right in his words that no other than state organs are involved when the innocent civilians including women and children are being killed in presence of security forces personnel.

Similarly, only people from the Shia school of thoughts have been targeted after confirmation of their identity. Hussain Shah is a noble and decent person, and he was never witnessed in such distress as he was shown in releasing the video message. He is right in his demand for a judicial inquiry into this recent massacre, but he needs to apprise him of such type of judicial inquiries results as it is always sealed and kept away from the general public.

Shia Muslims chant slogans to condemn the killing of Shia Muslims by gunmen in an ambush in Kurram district during a demonstration in Lahore, Pakistan, on Friday (November 22, 2024). (AP)

Sectarian tension in Kurram is not new or sectarian unrest is confined to this part of the country. Couple of years ago similar massacres of Shia Hazara in Quetta city of Pakistan remained routine but the Shia people came out on roads. They denounced and held no other than custodians of law and order responsible for such massacres. As a result of Shia Hazara community protests and now the situation is normal. Unless coming out on roads, forging unity amongst their ranks and getting rid of external hands and influence, people from all over Kurram would face such massacres also in future.

Sectarian and ethnic tensions are parts of a big game in Pakistan

No one can deny the fact that artificial trends of terrorism and extremism, ethnic and sectarian unrest and growing trends of extortion abs target killing are part of a great game. And the great game commence in late 70s from Afghanistan and is now in its full swing in Pakistan and rest of certain parts and parcels of Asian region. First ever sectarian clash occurred in Kurram in late 80’s when US lead allied folding back from Afghan jihad. Military dictator Ziaul Haq was in reign in that time. This first ever clash between the two sides continued for a couple of weeks and later on spread to adjacent Hangu, Kohat, Aurakzai, Dera Ismael Khan and other areas. Prior to first ever clash, almost Shia and Sunni populations remained calm and patient towards each others. But later besides direct clashes, target killing of Shia elders remained routine. Scores if families from Peshawar and other places have abandoned ancestral homes and properties and now residing ad refugees and immigrants in safe places both in and outside of the country.

Failure of socio-political leadership in Pakistan  

Civil administration and confused policies on the part of military leadership now converted the sectarian unrest into massacres of innocent and minority Shia people in Kurram. Economically, socially and politically, the Shia community of Kurram are dependent on Sunni people. The Shias are surrounded by Sunnis. The road connecting Shia dominated upper and Central Kurram is passing through Sada Town and its surrounding areas dominated by Sunnis. A large number of Sunnis are linked with hard line religious groups and in reaction, the Shias are seeking help from like minded internal and external groups.

Since the late 80’s government organs have been killing the time on constitution of jirgas and reconciliation teams for settling the issues-the issues of lands and properties disputes. But the results are very poor. In fact the civil administration lacked determinations, which enabled them to settle issues. At the moment the office of Deputy Commissioner is occupied by a junior officer who had earlier served Bara and Jamrud Tehsils as Revenue Officer but remained silent spectator to incidents of terror, target killing and extortion. Instead of wasting time and giving opportunities to both internal and external elements to exploit the situation in their favor, political leadership must play a role. It is the time to tackle the situation otherwise Kurram could be another Baluchistan in the coming few weeks.

In the past three years, the Taliban have severely limited access to information in Afghanistan and in some cases made it almost impossible. Many journalists who operate from the country say that the space for their activities is getting narrower every day.

These reporters state that in addition to self-censorship, they have experienced a kind of unwanted imprisonment and spend days and nights in their homes. They cannot move freely in the community for fear of interrogation and revenge from the Taliban.

In this report, two journalists have confirmed that they thought of suicide due to pressure from the Taliban. They say that life in Afghanistan has become difficult and that the Taliban have appeared as “death angle” and that if they did not have children, they would commit suicide.

These journalists are disappointed with the institutions that support the media and say that they have no way out of the existing problems. This is despite the fact that the Taliban have imposed more restrictions during the past month and have banned the publication of photos and images in five provinces.

One of the journalists who works under the Taliban regime says that the space for journalists to breathe and live is getting narrower and more limited every day. According to him, the Taliban have created an atmosphere where reporters and media spend day and night in worry and fear, and because of this, they cannot cover many events.

Taliban severely restricted the media landscape in Afghanistan, making it nearly impossible for journalist to operate

She emphasized that in some cases, due to the fear of the Taliban, she has covered news events a few days after they happened to prevent the Taliban from drawing attention and focusing on herself.

This reporter, who does not want to be named in the report, emphasizes that the difficult living conditions, the strict restrictions of the Taliban and the fear of being arrested and interrogated by this group made her think of suicide.

Samera, one of the Afghan female journalists, using her pin name for security reason, said that the painful experience of working under the Taliban rule has made her think about suicide many times. She says that she was once arrested by the Taliban for filming for news coverage.

“My arrest by the Taliban was the most bitter and painful experience, which made forced me to think of committing suicide,” She lamented.

This journalist says: “When the Taliban arrested me, I was thinking what my family, my colleagues and the community would say if I stayed in the prison at night?”

She furthered, “Because the arrest of a woman by the Taliban willfully or unwittingly has negative and harmful consequences that one cannot think of anything other than suicide.”

When the Taliban took some journalists, including females to the court, one of them said “why did you bring them, you should have shot them.”

“There I saw an old man who was the same age as my father. He threw himself at Talib’s feet and apologized, but Talib did not pay any attention to him,” she added.

An Afghan journalist said that he will commit suicide this time if Taliban arrest him

Omid, another journalist who used his pin name to avoid arrest, has thought of suicide many times, and he was also arrested several times. He says that despite his efforts, he did not succeed in leaving Afghanistan. “I’ll commit suicide if the Taliban arrest me once again,” he warned.

He furthered that he has heard a lot about torture and ill-treatment in the Taliban prison and has a horrible image of the prison scenes in his mind.

“Before the Taliban torture and insult me ​​in a terrible way, or take a video commitment from me… I prefer to put an end to this life,” he warned, adding that “I think that suicide is the only way to end all this suffering and misery.”

Another journalist who is currently in Pakistan also confirms that he thought of suicide due to mental and psychological problems. She says: “God is a witness to the hardships I experienced in Pakistan, it had ruined my soul and spirit so much that I thought if I committed suicide, I might get rid of these ordeals.”

In the past one month, the Taliban have continuously and systematically prevented the video activities of the media in a number of provinces across the country. After banning photography and filming, this group has now banned five provinces from these activities and announced that this restriction will be gradually applied in all provinces.

The Taliban authorities have informed the local media of the ban on taking pictures and publishing them, as well as banning the video interviews of their officials in Nangarhar province.

Azizullah Mustafa, the deputy governor of the Taliban in Nangarhar has ordered all the local employees that according to the order of the Taliban supreme leader it is forbidden to take pictures of living creatures and publish them, and the media is only allowed to communicate with Taliban officials.

Taliban already banned taking pictures of living creatures in five provinces in Afghanistan

Kandahar, Takhar, Badghis, Helmand and Nangarhar are among the provinces, where taking pictures of living creatures and publishing them, as well as video interviews, are completely prohibited.

The Taliban have closed three radio stations in Khost province during the past month under extensive pressure. “Gharghasht”, “Zheman” and “Long” radios have been blocked by the Taliban and they have resumed their activities after providing a written commitment to comply with the Taliban’s orders.

The Center of Afghan Journalists has already announced that the Taliban have imposed 17 restrictive directives against the media. These restrictions include preventing women from appearing on national radio and television, banning media coverage of demonstrations and civil protests, imposing restrictions on access to information and publishing news and reports, requiring journalists and media to introduce the Taliban regime as the “government of Afghanistan”.

Also, the Taliban have imposed restrictions on interviews with their opponents and critics. They have banned the broadcast of international television programs in Afghanistan and have imposed restrictions on publishing commercials with political, security and social content. In addition, the media have been prohibited from criticizing the work of Taliban officials, and filming, video interviews, and the publication of women’s voices have been prohibited from the media.

Also, it is forbidden to work with the media that have been declared “forbidden” by the Taliban, and in Helmand province, the publication of women’s voices in the local media is completely prohibited. Orders have also been issued to the media to refrain from using “foreign terms”, which refers to the use of “
“Persian words” for university and college. Prohibiting photography and filming in official and informal meetings of local Taliban officials in Kandahar, and banning girls from making phone calls to radios and televisions in Khost province are among the other restrictions imposed by the Taliban on domestic media in Afghanistan.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, citing war crimes in Gaza.

Despite sanctions and threats from Israel and the United States, the ICC’s decision was based on overwhelming evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Palestinians. Among the charges, Netanyahu and Gallant were accused of using starvation as a weapon, with the court stating these allegations are founded on “reasonable grounds.”

Israel reportedly employed its intelligence agency, the Mossad, to spy on, hack, pressure, defame, and allegedly threaten senior ICC officials in an effort to obstruct investigations. Although these efforts were partially exposed through the international press and statements from ICC staff, they failed to deter the Court’s proceedings.

The ICC also clarified that it is undeterred by Israel’s non-recognition of the Court’s authority or its rulings.

Additionally, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masr on related charges.

While this ruling may not immediately halt Israeli military actions in Gaza or reduce U.S. support for Israel, it is likely to deepen divisions among European nations over their stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.