PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) 鈥 Shiite and Sunni Muslim tribes in Pakistan鈥檚 northwest have agreed to a cease-fire, a government spokesman said Sunday, days after 42 Shiites were killed in an ambush.
The attack on the convoy last Thursday in Kurram district triggered retaliatory that killed dozens more people from both communities.
A spokesperson for the provincial Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, Muhammad Ali Saif, said the two communities agreed to a seven-day cease-fire after a government delegation held talks with Sunni and Shiite elders.
鈥淭he parties also agreed to exchange prisoners and return the bodies of the deceased,鈥 he said. The prisoners include women.
Shiite Muslims make up about 15% of the 240 million people in Sunni-majority Pakistan. Although the two groups generally live together peacefully, tensions remain, especially in Kurram.
Although the area has a history of sectarian conflict, with , the current violence is connected to a land dispute.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for Thursday鈥檚 convoy attack.
