At 6 am on Wednesday, armed men from the Ogai tribe attacked the Garhi Tegho village with a rocket and accidently hit Tando Malik’s house. The village houses families other than the Teghanis who routinely suffer from these fights.
The rocket attack killed Malik’s son and his three nephews while six others were injured. Three-year-old Ashiq, four-year-old Waseem, four-year-old Farhan and six-year-old Hafeez died in the attack while seven-year-old Amna, eight-year-old Nadeem, seven-year-old Bakhtiar, and 35-year-old Amir Buksh were among the injured victims.
Several men from the Malik and Teghani tribes took to the streets to protest the attack and staged a sit-in at the Teghani bypass on the Indus Highway. They shouted slogans against the rival Ogai tribe and demanded arrests.
A heavy contingent of police reached the site and tried to disperse the protesters who refused to move unless the culprits were arrested. The police resorted to baton-charge that injured Abdul Latif and Dhani Buksh.
However, Abdul Latif died on his way to the hospital and Dhani Buksh is under treatment at a hospital in Larkana.
Higher police officials from Shikarpur and Kandhkot reached the Teghani bypass when they heard that the policemen had attacked the protesters.
DPO Shikarpur Faizullah Koreja and SPO Kandkot Barkat Domki held negotiations with the tribal elders and assured them that they will take action against the Ogai tribe. The families were so upset over losing four children that they did not react against the police for killing one of the protesters. Meanwhile, the police insisted that they have not killed Abdul Latif.
The protesters dispersed after assurances from the police department. The sit-in began at 8 am and lasted up to six hours.
The bodies were taken to the village after the completion of legal formalities at the hospital. Funeral prayers were held in the evening at Garhi Tegho village.
The fight between the Teghanis and the Ogais started six years ago over an alleged theft by one tribe. Since then, more than a 100 people have lost their lives in the clashes that erupt every now and then.
A few years ago, the two tribes reached a settlement when one of the landlords in the area intervened and held negotiations between them but the settlement did not last for long.
The rival tribes follow a tit for tat policy as two days ago, a few men from the Teghani tribe killed one man from the Ogai clan.
He was travelling on a bus from Karachi to Kandhkot when armed men intercepted the bus, carrying more than 15 passengers, and killed him.
Since the rival’s villages are located opposite to each other, incidents of firing are also very common. Both families are equally influential in the area and one of the leaders of the Ogai tribe is serving in the present provincial assembly as well.
Both the Teghanis and Ogais are equipped with the latest weapons and thus enjoy considerable leeway in front of law enforcement agencies.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 17th, 2010.
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