No man’s land: Jirga held to end Khuhro-Rashdi land dispute

Rasheeda sold 2,100 acres of land to Pir Pagara’s son which sparked the dispute.

SUKKUR:

A land dispute which had led the Khuhros to kill three and injure five Rashdi men was finally sorted at a jirga organised at Circuit House in Sukkur on Saturday.

The jirga was led by former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro.

They went over the land revenue records and reserved the verdict for a later date.

Some witnesses claim that the verdict would be announced after consultations with Pir Pagara while others claims that since Tariq Khuhro’s widow Rasheeda had sold the land to Pir Pagara’s son Pir Syed Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi alias Raja Saeen, Asad Khuhro would have to pay Rs87.5 million to him in order to take over the 2,100 acres of agricultural land in Deh Aburi.

A jirga had also been organised and led by the former prime minister on July 14 to resolve the rift.

The pir of Bharchoondi, Sharif Mian Abdul Khaliq alias Mian Mithoo, had acted as Raja Saeen’s adviser and Sardar Khan Chandio had acted as Asad Khuhro’s adviser.

The jirga heard both sides of the story and found the Khuhros guilty of killing three and injuring five Rashdi men.

They asked the Khuhros to pay a million rupees for each person they killed and Rs200,000 for every injured person. However, since the revenue records were not available, the jirga had postponed the verdict to July 31 and then again to a later date.

Sindh Food Minister Nadir Magsi, Sardar Khan Chandio, Raja Saeen, Asad and Rasheeda Khuhro were also present at the jirga.

This land is my land

The land initially belonged to the former federal minster Pasha Khuhro and was inherited by his sons after he died.

The Khuhros and Rashidis of Khairpur have been at war because of the 2,100 acres located in Keti Khuhro after Pasha’s widowed daughter-in-law sold the land to Pir Pagara’s son Raja Saeen.

The former federal minister’s son Asad had tried to resolve the matter but failed.



Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2011.