Tribal concerns: Jirga vows to protect the people

Meeting of elders to devise strategy to curb rising incidents of kidnapping for ransom and target killing in district.

DERA GHAZI KHAN:

Tribal elders in the district have decided to hold a grand jirga to devise a strategy against kidnapping for ransom incidents in the area.

“The jirga will also call in the major landlords in the area to answer for kidnappings that have taken place on or near their properties.

Every person must be held accountable in this regard,” said jirga member Asadullah Khan.

The meeting of tribal elders from different tribes will work to evolve a strategy to curb growing incidents of kidnapping for ransom as well as target killing of residents in the district. “We have also invited some police officers to give us their opinion on the matter,” he said.

Growing incidents of target killings and kidnapping for ransom have caused grave concern among residents of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajan Pur.

“The biggest problem is that many of the kidnapping victims are taken across the provincial border into Balochistan, which makes it very hard for us to recover them,” said a jirga member Malik Ashfaq Tamman.

Area residents said that public pressure and the outcry from families of abducted persons had finally forced the tribal elders of the tehsil to hold an inter-tribe Jirga to make the Dera – Quetta Road a safe travelling route.

“This is a main trade route but it has become so dangerous to travel on that even police officials tend to avoid monitoring it,” said a police inspector Rana Kareem Sandhu.

The inter-provincial road passes through the tribal area tehsil and leads to Balochistan.

“The highest incidents of kidnapping and murder occur in the area adjacent to the Khetran tribe which is dominant in the district Barkhan of Balochistan,” Sandhu said.

Most recently, trader Sheikh Yaseen was kidnapped two days ago when he was travelling near Rakni. “Six months back he was kidnapped and he was only recently   freed after his family paid a huge ransom.

Yesterday parts of his mutilated body were found scattered on the roadside,” said jirga member Chaudhary Rashid Badar. “Someone needs to be held accountable,” he added.

Six people from Dera Ghazi Khan have been killed over the last year and four residents of Tuman Qaiserani, in the Tribal Area tehsil were abducted a couple of days ago near Rakni.

“These people are still missing,” he added.

“Apparently there are many gangs coordinating to kidnap the children and relatives of wealthy landlords in Dera Ghazi Khan for ransom. When contacted, the tribal chief of the Qaiserani tribe and Pakistan Muslim Leaue-Nawaz PML (N)‘s MPA  Mir Badshah Qaiserani  told The Express Tribune that the law and order  situation in the areas adjacent to Balochistan regarding was deteriorating by the day.

“There are target killings and random shootings in the streets. It is getting hard to leave at certain times of day,” he said. “I will attend the jirga because we need to work together to make this area safe again. I hope that the tribal elders can find a way to provide a secure travel route for commuters on Dera- Quetta Road,” he said.

Tribal elders of the Buzdar, Gorchani, Ashtri, Tamman and Leghari clans will attend the jirga. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2012.