The police arrested at least 25 men from a remote village in Astore Valley on Wednesday, where a boy was killed and several others were injured during a clash between two groups on Tuesday.
Rafiullah, a resident of Astore, said that a four-month old boy was killed when two rival groups pelted stones and attacked each other with sticks over a political dispute. The injured were taken to a government hospital for treatment.
The incident occurred in Dirlay Bala, 50 kilometres from Astore.
According to sources, the ‘Wali’ group and PPP leaders had developed a dispute over a political issue some time back. They added that the ‘Wali’ group, led by some PML-Q leaders, had contested the elections for a legislative assembly seat against the PPP in 2009.
The victorious PPP candidate, Abdul Hameed, is currently a member of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly.
Sources also said that the district administration has decided to setup a police check post in the village to maintain security in future.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2011.
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