Landmines · Analysis
Kurram's slow-motion emergency: mines, amputations and a closed road
A landmine is a decision that keeps being made after the war that placed it is over. In Kurram district, that decision kept taking limbs and lives throughout 2025 and 2026.
· By My Safe Voice
On 17 August 2026, three separate landmine explosions were reported in the remote Dandar Sahara area of Kurram district in a single day. Nine people were injured. A labourer, Hamid Hussain, lost both his legs. Local police said the incidents raised serious concerns over the presence of unexploded ordnance and mines in the area.
The weeks around it were worse still. In a joint press conference, local representatives said that more than 25 landmine blasts had occurred in a matter of weeks, killing five people and leaving 25 others permanently disabled. They demanded a special compensation package for people disabled by the devices, the immediate clearance of mines, and a high-level investigation. They also raised a specific legal complaint: that Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, the provision that treats such acts as terrorism, was allegedly not being included in the FIRs.
Not a freak accident, but a pattern
Kurram had been recording these deaths for well over a year:
Four killed in Pewar Sharankhel
Four men, Nawab Ali, Aamir Hussain, Hidayat Hussain and Manzar Ali, died on the spot when devices detonated as they neared a mountain area. Two horses were also killed and four others were wounded. Survivors said police had been told the area was unsafe.
A father killed, his son injured
Hassan Ghulam was killed and his son Sadiq Hussain injured by a mine in the Khamzai area of Pewar.
Two killed, one injured in Nistikot
Three blasts in Upper Kurram killed Iqbal Hussain and Akbar Ali and injured Syed Guloon Shah. Eng. Hamid Hussain of the Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen urged authorities to clear the area.
Three amputations in one day
Three blasts in Dandar Sahara injured nine; three victims lost limbs. A wave of surrounding blasts was later reported to have killed five and disabled 25.
The closed road that made it worse
Residents and local political figures repeatedly made the same point: the main Thall–Parachinar highway was closed to traffic despite peace agreements, forcing people to travel the district's remote, unpaved routes to reach Parachinar and other towns. Those routes are exactly where the mines were. The closures did not remove the danger from Kurram; they funnelled civilians toward it.
Residents were forced to travel via remote and difficult routes to reach Parachinar. They demanded urgent measures and the reopening of the main highway.
If you are in a mined or former conflict area
Do not attempt to move, mark or touch any suspected device, and keep others away. Report the location through a trusted channel. If you or a relative has been injured, document the exact place and time, keep medical records, and press for an FIR that includes the relevant provisions. See Landmines: safety, injury and compensation.
Sources
- "Nine hurt in 3 separate landmine explosions in Pak's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa", Daily Excelsior (PTI), 17 August 2026.
- "Kurram Landmine Explosions Injure Nine, Spark Local Fear", Khyber News, 17 August 2026.
- "Compensation sought for Kurram landmine victims", The News, 18 August 2026.
- "Two killed in Upper Kurram landmine blasts", Dawn, 29 March 2026.
- "Four killed in Kurram landmine explosions", Dawn, 26 June 2025.
- "Man dead, son injured in landmine explosion in Kurram", The Nation, 26 September 2025.