Jirga settles 15-year-old dispute

Deadly disagreement stemmed from theft of livestock

SUKKUR: A 15-year-old bloody dispute between the Shar, Selro and Dhondho tribes was settled amicably through a jirga held at the residence of Sardar Ali Gohar Mahar in Khangarh district, Ghotki, on Sunday.

A fine of Rs23 million was imposed upon the warring tribes for killing 19 persons, including women, while the matter of injured persons and looted livestock will be resolved later.



The jirga, jointly presided over by Mahar and former Sindh minister Manzoor Ali Panhwar, was held to resolve a dispute among three tribes that had started after the theft of some buffaloes and cows around 15 years ago.



Jirgas were earlier held between the tribesmen, but one or the other tribesmen resorted to aggression, which further fuelled the fire and failed to resolve the dispute.

The jirga heard the parties’ versions and recorded the statements of the eyewitnesses and others over the course of an entire day, after which the presidents of the jirga and the elders of the tribes went into further private deliberations. After two hours of deliberations, the verdict of the jirga was announced by Abdul Karim Badani Jatoi.

According to the verdict, Selro and Dhondho tribesmen were found guilty of killing 11 Shar tribesmen, for which a fine of Rs13 million was imposed on them, while the Shar tribesmen were found guilty of killing eight persons, four each from Selro and Dhondho tribe, and were fined Rs9 million. The amount for each murder was fixed at Rs1 million, while for the murder of women and elders the amount was doubled to Rs2 million. All three tribesmen accepted the jirga’s verdict and a committee was formed that will obtain details about injured persons from the three tribes and the number of looted buffaloes and cows.



Strict security measures were adopted inside and around the venue of the jirga and a heavy contingent of police was deployed to avert any untoward incident.

Meanwhile, the presidents of the jirga announced that another jirga to resolve a bloody dispute between Bhutto, Shar and Mahar tribes will be held after Eid.

The dispute between these three tribes had started five years ago over a piece of land and so far it has claimed 30 lives.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2016.