Tribal justice: Jirga fines two tribes with Rs35m for killing over 100 people

An enmity which started seven years ago was finally settled.


Sarfaraz Memon December 12, 2011

SUKKUR: A jirga asked Ogahi and Teghani tribesmen to pay Rs34.91 million to resolve a dispute which has claimed over 100 lives since December 2004.

Former Sindh Minister Manzoor Panhwar, MPA Mir Abid Sundrani and Sardar Tegho Khan Teghani led the jirga in the Dari village near Kandhlot on Sunday night. Men from both tribes were found guilty of killing men and women and injuring 91 people. The jirga elders met in the afternoon and recorded statements given by a dozen eye-witnesses. After listening to the arguements from both the sides, the former minister and MPA went into another room for another session of three-hour long discussions.

According to the verdict, the tribesmen were fined Rs500,000 for killing a man and Rs10,000,000 for killing a woman. They had to pay Rs50,000 and Rs200,000 depending on the injuries. However, if the tribesmen had injured a woman they had to pay Rs400,000.

The Teghani tribesmen were fined Rs19.86 million for killing 29 Ogahi men and injuring 43 others, while the Ogahi men were fined Rs15.50 million for killing 21 Teghani men and injuring 48 others.  The Ogahi tribe was fined an extra one million rupees for violating the verdict of the jirga held in November 2006. Some Rs15.5 million were deducted from the Teghani tribes fines. They said the remaining amount would be paid in three equal installments. For future references, it was also decided that the aggressor would be fined one million rupees.

When it all started

In December 2005, some men from the Ogahi tribe stole a buffalo from Sardar Tegho Khan Teghani. The Teghani men retaliated by stealing buffaloes from Raees Ali Murad Ogahi, a tribal elder.  In November 2006, Mir Sundar Khan Sundrani led a jirga with Panhwar, Shahnawaz Junejo and Dr Ibrahim Jatoi at the government degree college in Kandhkot. The jirga had fined both tribes for killing 35 people. They tribes paid the fine and assured the jirga that they would not fight again. The Ogahi tribe violated the ruling and killed a Teghani man and restarted the feud.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13th, 2011.

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