Land dispute: Angry protesters block road for two hours

GILGIT: A dispute between two local groups entered the second day as members of the Jutial group blocked a main road in Gilgit and burnt tyres, laying claim to a piece of land.

Earlier on Wednesday, four people had been injured in a clash between Jutial and Kashrote groups.

“We are demanding arrest of those who tried to encroach upon our land,” said one of the protestors of the Jutial group.

The demonstrators had blocked the road from Alfalah Bank to Public School Chowk by placing boulders and burning tyres. The police was forced to divert traffic to alternate routes.

“I saw a huge cloud of smoke from the rooftop of my house,” said Maqsood Ahmad, a resident of Upper Jutial.

About two hours later, the police managed to get the protesters off the road, which was cleared of debris and opened to traffic.

Police Superintendent Sultan Azam said, “We are looking into the matter and will not allow anybody to take the law into their hands.”

He added that both groups had lodged complaints in police stations accusing each other of encroaching upon their land.

According to the Kashrote group, Jutial group has encroached upon the path leading to their land, thus cutting them off. Jutial group, however, maintains that it purchased the land back in 1970.

SP Azam said, “It’s up to the community elders to make a way out by negotiations.”

The chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Mehdi Shah, also took note of the clash, saying that the government will take action against those sabotaging peace in the district.

“We have taken notice of the fighting and have asked the settlement department to clear its records,” Shah said on Thursday.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2011.