Cop loses it at jirga, kills two

Police say gathering convened to settle domestic dispute

SWAT:

A dispute in a jirga resulted in weapons being drawn and bullets flying, leaving two people dead and as many women injured in Swat's Islampur area. The altercation escalated into a shooting, resulting in the casualties.

According to reports, during a family council (jirga) held to resolve a domestic conflict on the outskirts of Mingora city, Shaukat, son of Jan Khan and a resident of Islampur, who is also a police officer, lost his temper and opened fire.

The shooting resulted in the deaths of Sarfaraz Umar and Imran Umar, both residents of Islampur, while two women suffered injuries.

The police have registered a case and initiated further investigation into the incident. It is worth noting that the shooting stemmed from a domestic dispute.

Jirgas in the region are no strangers to violence. In 2021, at least nine people were killed and 16 were injured as the participants of a gathering opened fire at each other in the Barawal tehsil of Upper Dir.

The incident occurred during a meeting held to resolve a dispute related to the construction of a road at Ganu Cham, tehsil Barawal.

The attendees first engaged in a brawl, but took out guns and began firing at each other shortly after.

The injured and the bodies were later shifted to the district headquarters hospital (DHQ), where the staff confirmed the deaths of nine people.

They further confirmed providing treatment to 16 others injured, five of whom were stated to be in a critical condition.

On August 26 of the same year, eight people were killed and 11 others sustained serious injuries when the residents of two villages clashed over a land dispute near Parachinar in the Kurram tribal district of K-P.

Police said that the residents of two villages, Sher Jan Kalay and Sago Kalay, had a longstanding dispute over the ownership of a piece of land.