[2][3] Tension had been brewing in the area adjacent to the Afghan border since April 1 when the sectarian group Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat taking part in Mawlid (prophet Muhammad's birthday) when some of Sunni people having guns shot the Shia people.It has been serious issue from then onwards.

During a Sunni procession celebrating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad in Parachinar on 1 April, a few men made derogatory remarks towards historical Shia figures.

[2] FATA authorities imposed a curfew across Kurram agency and sent soldiers into Parachinar after at least three people were reported to killed and 18 injured by the end of the day.

[7][6] Early in the day, Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopters attacked the positions of sectarian fighters in Parachinar before army and paramilitary forces in armoured personnel carriers secured the city.

[12] Violence between sectarian fighters cooled down in Parachinar but intensified across Upper and Lower Kurram as tribal elders attempted to resolve the situation.

[10][13] Clashes in Piwar and Kirman left four and three people dead in the villages respectively, while mortar fire on a house in Alam Sher killed one person.

[13] PTI chairman Imran Khan suggested that the conflict could be manufactured by the United States in order to harm Pakistan's relations with Iran.

[30] Clashes broke out in Parachinar after armed gunmen opened fire inside a Sunni mosque on 16 November, killing at least 10 people.

[33] On 19 November, Pakistani soldiers with attack helicopter support moved into the city, forcing the sectarian fighters to retreat from their positions.