Peshawar launches desk to end blood feuds

Enmity Resolution Desk aims to curb gun culture, inherited rivalries

PESHAWAR:

In a historic move to end decades-long blood feuds, Peshawar is set to establish its first-ever Enmity Resolution Desk, a platform designed to tackle inherited rivalries and curb the pervasive gun culture.

Certain neighborhoods in Peshawar, including Badhaber, Urmar, Matani, Tehkal, Shahpur, and Chamkani, have witnessed violent rivalries for decades, claiming the lives of hundreds. In some areas, entire generations have paid the price of revenge with human lives, leaving deep scars that persist to this day.

The newly established desk will bring together experts from the Criminology Department, the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, retired police officers, respected religious scholars, and women social leaders. Their collective goal is to resolve disputes not only through legal channels but also with social, religious, and humanitarian perspectives.

Arsala Khan, from Badhaber, whose family has lost 17 members to ongoing feuds, told The Express Tribune, "The age when we should have been holding pens, we were forced to pick up guns. For the past seven years, we have had to leave the city. A few minutes of anger destroyed our family, forcing us into fear and exile, living each year with the threat of another killing. We hope this initiative ends the culture of enmity so ordinary people can live safely and peacefully."

SP Cantt Peshawar Abdullah Ehsan said the Enmity Resolution Desk, the first of its kind in the city, will provide a clear and effective framework to address long-standing feuds. "We are including credible, capable, and respected individuals who will prioritize reconciliation over hatred while considering legal, technical, religious, and local customs," he explained.

According to Peshawar CCPO Dr Mian Saeed, the desk will go beyond paperwork. It will serve as a practical platform to heal wounded families, promote dialogue, and replace guns with conversation. "If the influential segments of society unite behind this effort, the day is not far when Peshawar will see peace instead of feuds, and trust will replace fear," he said.

Residents of the city are cautiously optimistic that children growing up under the shadow of rivalry may inherit peace instead of hatred, and that Peshawar's streets will witness examples of reconciliation rather than funeral processions.