Tribal feud claims life of prominent educationist

The alleged killers released a video in which they are firing in celebration after killing Prof Ajmal

HYDRABAD:

The tribal feuds in the upper Sindh region claimed the life of a prominent educationist who had come back from France with a PhD in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to serve his people.

IBA Sukkur Computer Science Department Assistant Prof Dr Muhammad Ajmal Sawand was killed in a brazen attack by armed men of Sundrani tribe in Kandhkot-Kashmore district on Thursday.

Prof Ajmal was going back from his village in Kandhkot to Sukkur when Sundarani tribesmen attacked his vehicle with fire arms.

The district's SSP Irfan Samo told The Express Tribune that Sawand -- a doctor of philosophy (PhD) in artificial intelligence (AI) with several years of teaching experience in Paris, from where he obtained that degree in 2015 -- sustained 11 gunshot wounds.

"The attack was certainly indiscriminate and savage," he said. The alleged killers later released a video in which they can be seen indulging in celebratory firing after shooting dead Prof Ajmal.

According to the SSP, the apparent cause of the murder is the on-going clash between the Sawand and Sundrani tribes of Kandhkot sparked by an incident of honour killing.

The feud has so far claimed seven lives in four months since December, 2022. Four persons of Sundranis and three of Sawands have been killed. He said over two weeks ago armed men of Sawand tribe shot dead three men of Sundranis.

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He believed that the killing of the professor was likely a revenge for the recent deaths. He shared that he spoke with Prof Ajmal's brother Dr Tariq Sawand on Wednesday and came to know about the professor's visit. "I was aware of the severity of the clash. I would have provided him security if I was asked," the SSP said.

He quoted Tariq who told the SSP after the murder that the professor left the village for Sukkur without even taking armed men from Sawand tribe for his security.

The SSP informed that following the killing, he moved his armoured personnel carriers from an ongoing operation against the dacoits of riverine forest to the village of Sundranis. However, he added, all the suspects have escaped from the area with their families after the incident and no arrest could be made.

He said that dozens of tribal clashes claim hundreds of lives in the district every year. "Every other home here is armed. The police can't even dare to raid a place without the armoured vehicles."

He recalled that only three days ago an inspector was shot dead and a DSP and a constable were injured in the operation against dacoits in Kandhkot.

"They are armed with anti-aircraft guns which even pierce the body of the APCs".

According to him, he was also trying to resolve the dispute between Sawand and Sundrani tribes by negotiation with their elders. But the effort was in the early stages.

The incident's FIR has not been lodged so far. The body was taken to Kandhkot Civil Hospital for postmortem. Tension returned to the villages of Sundranis and Sawands after the killing but the presence of the police has so far averted any reaction.

The IBA Sukkur University has condemned the killing and expressed solidarity with the family. The killing also sparked a fierce reaction on social media.

"Tribal Killing has destroyed more families than any war in Sindh," wrote Mehwish Khan. "I remember when you discussed your future plans before leaving France. You preferred to serve your homeland. What have we returned to you?" Intesab Hussain wrote.

The professor, a student of Cadet College Larkana, obtained Bachelor of Engineering degree in Software Engineering from Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, in 2006.

He later acquired the postgraduate qualification from Jean Monnet University, Saint Etienne, France, in Computer Science in 2011 followed by his PhD from Paris Descartes University in 2015.

His professional research interests include security and resource management in wireless medical sensor networks, wireless body area networks, virtual sensor networks, mobile crowd sensing, quality monitoring for medical and health applications, among others.