Tribesmen say they would not give up their arms

Provincial authorities in northwestern Pakistan said yesterday they planned to collect heavy weapons to stop sectarian clashes that have killed hundreds, but tribesmen in the historically lawless region said they would not give up their arms.

Kurram, a tribal district of around 600,000 near the border with Afghanistan where federal and provincial authorities have traditionally exerted limited control, has been a flashpoint for sectarian tensions for decades.

Fresh clashes between Sunni and Shia Muslims erupted last month, triggering a humanitarian crisis with reports of starvation, lack of medicine and oxygen shortages following the blocking of the main highway connecting Kurram's main city of Parachinar to the provincial capital Peshawar.

Mohammad Ali Saif, spokesman for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government, said authorities had decided to dismantle private bunkers - observation posts used in the fighting by both sides - and collect heavy weapons from tribesmen in Kurram to stop the violence.

However, local tribesmen have refused to surrender their weapons, citing concerns about their safety.

"Our weapons are for self-defence, not against the state," said Jalal Hussain Bangash, a local tribal leader.