Jirga rules: Two men killed over old dispute in Shikarpur

The tribes have been at war with each other for more than two years over a piece of land.<br /> .

SUKKUR: Blood was shed again between the Sadhaya and Dahani tribesmen over an issue that was resolved through a jirga less than a month ago on March 2.

According to sources, two tribesmen were killed in Madeji, Shikarpur district on Sunday. Muhammad Khan Sadhaya, a resident of the Achar Sadhaya village, had gone to the Chatto Mangi village to meet his relatives. On his way home, he was attacked by men believed to be from the Dahani tribe.

In retaliation, men from the Sadhaya tribe raided Rehmatullah Dahani village and killed a man identified as Yousuf Dahani. Munawat Sadhaya was injured when the villagers responded to the attack.

Muhammad Khan’s body and Munawar were taken to Chandka Medical College Hospital, Larkana, while the other body was taken to Madeji hospital for an autopsy. The reason behind the attack and the counter attack has not been ascertained as yet. No arrests were made and no case was registered till the filing of this report.

All in the family

Both tribes have been at war with each other for more than two years over a piece of land. More than 20 lives have been lost and over two dozen people were injured. On March 2, a jirga was held in Kot Durrani, residence of Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani in Garhi Yasin to resolve the dispute.

Former Sindh Minister Mir Manzoor Panhwar had presided over the jirga, in which Dahani tribesmen were represented by Agha Dahani and Ghulam Rasool Sadhaya was there for the Sadhaya tribe. Agha Maseehuddin Durrani and Babul Bhayo were also present at the jirga with a large number of Sadhaya and Dahani tribesmen.

It was decided that both tribes were guilty of killing 10 people and injuring 24 others. The Dahanis had to pay a fine of Rs10.62 million for killing 10 people from the Sadhaya tribe and injuring 10 others. A fine of Rs9.65 million was imposed on the Sadhaya tribesmen for killing 10 Dahani tribesmen and injuring 14 others. For every man killed it was decided the tribes would pay Rs800,000, and Rs1.6 million for a woman. An amount of Rs50,000 to Rs25,000 was fixed for the injured. Reports claim that the tribesmen had deposited Rs50,000 each with Agha Maseehuddin Durrani and had promised to pay the rest within a year. The jirga had advised the families of those killed to keep in touch with Agha Maseehuddin Durrani for their compensation. It was also decided that the disputed land would be equally distributed between both parties.

The jirga had also decided that if, in future, anyone from the tribes resorted to aggression, the tribe would have to pay a fine of a million rupees. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2014.