Pakistan's northwestern province denies reports of 100 child deaths in blockaded Kurram district

A senior official in Pakistan's northwestern province denied social media reports that more than 100 children have died in the remote tribal district of Kurram on Wednesday, where sectarian clashes have led to a two-month road blockade cutting off essential supplies to over 400,000 residents.

Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, information advisor to the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, called the reports "baseless and fabricated," insisting that his government is delivering all necessary medicines to Kurram district on a daily basis.

"Certain miscreants are making futile attempts to mislead the public," said Saif, the provincial government's spokesperson. "All basic necessities in the Kurram district are being prioritized and fully met."

His statement comes as concerns mount over the humanitarian crisis in Kurram, which the provincial government has already declared a disaster zone.

Earlier this week, medical officials at the District Headquarters Hospital in Parachinar, the district's main town, said that 29 children had died due to medicine shortages between October and mid-December.

Kurram blockade

The isolated district, which borders Afghanistan, has been cut off from the rest of Pakistan since late November when authorities closed the main access road following deadly sectarian clashes between Sunni and Shia communities that killed more than 150 people.

The government has been using helicopters to deliver supplies and evacuate critical patients, but local residents report severe overcrowding at hospitals, with facilities seeing four times their normal patient load.

Tribal elders are currently negotiating a peace agreement that would require both sides to remove their weapons and fortified positions by February 1, though a recent beheading incident has complicated efforts to maintain a ceasefire.