Violent clash over land averted
A head-on collision between two groups over a disputed piece of land was narrowly averted.
GILGIT:
A head-on collision between two groups over a disputed piece of land was narrowly averted on Tuesday as political representatives swept in to make a timely intervention.
Early in the day, over 300 men belonging to Nagar and other areas gathered at the disputed site at Konodas and started construction, defying government orders, witnesses said.
Witnesses said construction was taking place despite the presence of dozens of police and scouts on the site, but they made no effort to stop it, and just watched the drama unfold.
“We had no orders for intervention,” was the defence one policeman gave The Express Tribune. Senior police and administration officials were not immediately available for comments.
The piece of land, adjacent to Central Police Office, is disputed as resident of Gilgit claim that it is their inherited land, while the party from Nagar claim it as theirs.
However, by 10:00am, the standoff turned sectarian as hundreds of people of the opposite sect assembled at Chinar Bag, threatening to forcefully stop the illegal construction if the government failed to do so. Some unknown miscreants also opened fire in the air, further provoking the crowd, whose emotions had been already running high. People on both sides were reportedly armed with guns.
However, the arrival of public representatives cooled down the issue. The legislative assembly members Rehmat Khaliq, Jamil Ahmed, and Didar Ali spoke to the disgruntled groups and assured them of settling the issue amicably. The mob dispersed soon after without any further disturbance in the town, which has seen a number of sectarian clashes in the recent past.
Later, parts of the city saw blocked roads and burnt tyres as people protested the earlier face-off, and markets had to close.
Later in the day, Senior Minister Mohammad Jaffer, who is also acting chief minister in the absence of Mehdi Shah, said that a judicial committee will be formed to permanently settle the issue. Jaffer made the same statement in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, saying that a high level inquiry committee comprising judges of high courts would be constituted to settle the issue.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 14th, 2011.
A head-on collision between two groups over a disputed piece of land was narrowly averted on Tuesday as political representatives swept in to make a timely intervention.
Early in the day, over 300 men belonging to Nagar and other areas gathered at the disputed site at Konodas and started construction, defying government orders, witnesses said.
Witnesses said construction was taking place despite the presence of dozens of police and scouts on the site, but they made no effort to stop it, and just watched the drama unfold.
“We had no orders for intervention,” was the defence one policeman gave The Express Tribune. Senior police and administration officials were not immediately available for comments.
The piece of land, adjacent to Central Police Office, is disputed as resident of Gilgit claim that it is their inherited land, while the party from Nagar claim it as theirs.
However, by 10:00am, the standoff turned sectarian as hundreds of people of the opposite sect assembled at Chinar Bag, threatening to forcefully stop the illegal construction if the government failed to do so. Some unknown miscreants also opened fire in the air, further provoking the crowd, whose emotions had been already running high. People on both sides were reportedly armed with guns.
However, the arrival of public representatives cooled down the issue. The legislative assembly members Rehmat Khaliq, Jamil Ahmed, and Didar Ali spoke to the disgruntled groups and assured them of settling the issue amicably. The mob dispersed soon after without any further disturbance in the town, which has seen a number of sectarian clashes in the recent past.
Later, parts of the city saw blocked roads and burnt tyres as people protested the earlier face-off, and markets had to close.
Later in the day, Senior Minister Mohammad Jaffer, who is also acting chief minister in the absence of Mehdi Shah, said that a judicial committee will be formed to permanently settle the issue. Jaffer made the same statement in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, saying that a high level inquiry committee comprising judges of high courts would be constituted to settle the issue.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 14th, 2011.