Man forced to pay Rs700,000 for eloping with a girl from Thul

A two-year romance that began with a missed call has lead to much ado.

SUKKUR: A jirga held to settle a dispute between two tribes asked Mumtaz Choliyani to pay Rs700,000 for eloping with Sajida, a girl from the Noonari tribe, one-and-half years ago.

Najam Din Jarwar and Nazir Choliyani led the jirga in the Nazir Choliyani village near Tangwani on Sunday and declared that the couple was guilty.

The verdict was accepted by both tribes and to show good faith, men from the Choliyani paid Rs50,000 and said that the rest would be paid later in two equal installments.

Nazir Choliyani, is believed to have a price on his head. Sources claim that the village is also named after him.  Mumtaz and Sajida’s elopement sparked of an unspoken enmity between the two tribes which escalated and resulted in a clash which left five people injured. The couple fell in love when Sajida gave Mumtaz a missed call by accident two years ago.

Tribal elders decided that it would be better to resolve the matter once and for all by organising a jirga.

SHO Tangwani Abdul Manan Dahani was not available for comments.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2011.