PESHAWAR/KURRAM: The health department on Thursday dispatched medical supplies to the violence-stricken Kurram district as the participants of a sit-in pinned hopes on the resumption of jirga in Kohat on Friday for opening of roads closed for the last 80 days.

Adviser to the Chief Minister for Health Ihtesham Ali in a statement said that supply of medicines was ongoing and drugs had been sent to District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Parachinar, Tehsil Headquarters Hospital (THQ) Sadda, and basic health units (BHUs) in the area.

The consistent supply of medicines has resulted in a tenfold increase in outpatient department (OPD) visits in hospitals as additional medicines donated by Karachi-based organisation JDC and the governor Sindh have been sent to ensure that people don’t suffer for want of drugs.

As opposed to the health adviser’s claims, the Parachinar tehsil chairman Agha Muzammil Hussain told the sit-in being staged in Kurram that more than 100 villages in the area had gone short of medicines, gas and edible commodities due to closure of roads.

He warned that they had decided to resign if the government failed to restore the road link and take measures for safety of the population. In majority of villages, people had no option but to stay indoors to evade violence, he said.

Mr Hussain alleged that 100 children had died due to shortage of drugs, which, he said, was extremely painful.

A member of the jirga, Pir Haider Ali Shah, told Dawn that a sitting of the jirga to be held in Kohat on Friday was likely to take the decision regarding opening of roads to bring the situation to normalcy. He requested all the jirga members to play an active role for resolution of the conflict and establishment of durable peace in the area.

Health adviser Ihtesham Ali, however, said that there was no shortage of medicines and the staff was available in all the hospital in Kurram district. He assured that the supply of medicines would continue uninterrupted until the situation in the region normalised.

He also clarified that reports circulating on the social media about the death of 100 children were baseless. He urged the media outlets to verify such news by seeking an official statement before reporting on the issue.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2024