This article has been corrected from its broadcast to say that the Kurram District shares its borders with only Afghanistan, not Afghanistan and Iran. Pakistan as a nation shares borders with Afghanistan and Iran, as well as India and China.
Pakistan (MNN) — Tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims run high and deep in Pakistan’s Kurram district these days.
Nehemiah* with FMI calls Kurram the “wild, wild West of Pakistan.” He explains several layers of the regional conflict. Pakistan is 80% Sunni Muslim, but many Shia Muslims have migrated to Kurram from Afghanistan. Nehemiah says the upper region of Kurram is predominantly Shia, while the lower region is Sunni.
Also present in Kurram are Islamic militant groups. Nehemiah listed Pakistan’s Taliban, al Qaeda, and Taliban Afghanistan.
Kurram district (red) within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (white) of Pakistan. (Image courtesy of User:Abbasi786786 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
“These tensions have been worsened by a combination of local dispute, regional geopolitics, and historical [grievances] making Kurram one of Pakistan’s most volatile areas located along the Afghan border,” Nehemiah says.
“The efforts to restore peace — including security operations and peace accords — have shown some success, but are often short-lived.”
Distrust and a sense of insecurity mark daily life in the region. Nehemiah says bombings of schools and mosques from both sects are not uncommon. In July 2024, a land dispute between tribes exploded and left nearly 50 people dead. After a brief time of peace, violence broke out again in early October, leading the government to shut down a key highway in Kurram.
“The people are suffering. It’s killings, ransom, kidnapping. It’s a war-torn situation right now there,” Nehemiah says.
Kurram is also highly unreached with the gospel. Muslim background believers in the underground church face extreme persecution. Instead of federal or military law, tribal law rules the day.
“In Pakistan, especially in such areas [as Kurram], giving a Bible away is a capital offense. [The] Taliban or the tribal people, they come in and they kill you if you share [the] Word of God with anybody,” Nehemiah says.
“They kill anybody there, they persecute anybody, and no one’s here to raise a voice for them.”
But these Christians have a fierce faith. One FMI partner Nehemiah spoke with this month is pursuing a specific region for Christ. He said, “There is nobody who can share the Word,” and so he is going there with the gospel.
Pray for Christians in Kurram district
There’s a place for you in this story.
(Photo courtesy of FMI)
“Please don’t pray for us. Pray with us,” one partner said to Nehemiah.
Therefore Nehemiah says, “Please pray with them and support these brothers and sisters who have fearless faith to serve in such a hostile situation.”
Pray with Christians in Kurram that the gospel will go forward. Pray that people in Kurram will find peace and reconciliation with God and each other. Ask God to soften hearts and reduce anger and fear, replaced by unity and understanding.
“Pray for FMI church planters and safe house shepherds to have opportunities to serve as Christ’s hands and feet,” Nehemiah says.
Learn more about FMI and its work alongside local believers here.
*Name withheld for security
Header photo courtesy of FMI.
