United Nations: United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the deadly attack in Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

At least 42 people were reportedly killed and 20 others injured in the attack, which was carried out by gunmen who targeted three passenger vehicles on Thursday, according to the Xinhua news agency.

The secretary-general stressed that attacks against civilians are unacceptable, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily briefing on Friday.

Guterres expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the Government of Pakistan.

He demanded the Pakistani government to investigate and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.

The Shia-majority Parachinar area has seen bloody clashes with neighboring Sunni-majority areas in the past.

No militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack while security forces have launched a search operation to trace the attackers.

Pakistan’s Federal Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack and said that the federal government is in constant communication with the provincial government of KP.

“This past week has been difficult and disturbing. We see a new incident every day and are now in constant touch with the KP authorities,” he said.

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the tragic incident, saying that “attack on innocent passengers is a cowardly and inhumane act”.

Kurram Agency has in the past witnessed violent and deadly clashes between Shia and Sunni tribes over land disputes. For years, the two tribes have been engaged in conflict, which has claimed hundreds of lives on both sides.

Since the last conflict between the tribes, local people were only allowed to travel in caravans as per the decision of the local elders.

A local resident of Uchhat said, “At least it can be established that the militants were aware of the movement of the convoy from Parachinar towards Peshawar and they tried to hide around the surrounding mountains to attack. had made a place in the places of

Thursday’s attack is one of the deadliest in the long-running sectarian conflict between Shia and Sunni tribes in Kurram district.

Earlier this month, thousands of residents gathered in Parachinar to participate in a “peace march” calling on the government to increase security for the 800,000 residents of Kurram district, more than 45 percent of whom belong to the Shia community. demanded.