Vendetta killings claim three more lives in Ghotki

The on-going vendetta killings between Sawand and Sundrani tribes claimed three more lives on Sunday in Ghotki district, as assailants did not even spare a child. A passer-by identified as Imam Bux Soomro, was also injured.

Police said that Ghaus Bux Sawand and his 11-year-old daughter Bushra were was buying groceries from the shop of Ali Asghar Thaeem near Ghotki's Kalma Chowk. The three were having a light chit-chat as Thaeem packed the goods.

Unaware of the tragedy that was about befall on them, four assailants from the rival Sundrani tribe came riding on two bikes - two driver and two shooters.

The shooters opened fire with their AK47 assault rifles emptying the clips and rode off brandishing weapons in the air. Ghaus Bux Sawand, Bushra and Thaeem were lying on the ground, dead for an act some people of their tribe had committed and they had to pay its price.

The assailants and their attack had been captured on a CCTV camera, a police official disclosed. The police believe that tribal enmity appeared to be the most likely cause of the killings, though the investigation is at a preliminary stage.

The bodies were shifted to Taluka Hospital Ghotki for postmortem before being handed over to the family for burial. Over three months ago, Dr Ajmal Sawand, an Associate Prof at Sukkur IBA University, was shot dead in Kashmore-Kandhokot district. The Sawand family had blamed Sundranis for the killing of an academic who was among the few teachers with foreign PhDs in Artificial Intelligence.

Chieftain escapes arrest

The attempt to arrest Sardar Tegho Khan Teghani, a tribal chief blamed for his nexus with dacoits of riverine land, went in vain on Monday as he reportedly escaped to Punjab.

The SSP Kashmore-Kandhkot district Irfan Sammo had announced that he was going to lay hands on Teghani after a police SHO of his district, Gul Muhammad Mehar, and a police constable were allegedly kidnapped by men of Teghani. The SSP told the media that the tribal chieftain escaped to Punjab. He credited himself for daring to apprehend a chieftain despite knowing the possible consequences.

Teghani, meanwhile, told the local media that he was in Kanhkot till Monday morning but the police did not try to arrest him. He said the police action was motivated by political victimisation. He argued that SSP Sammo is only making tall claims about trying to arrest him.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2023.