Jirga justice: Election commissioner helps end 4-year Lund group feud

Two men were murdered and a child was killed in the crossfire.

HYDERABAD: After a four-year dispute, a jirga has settled differences between two groups of the Lund community in Tando Allahyar district.

On Wednesday, a jirga headed by the Sindh election commissioner, Sono Khan Baloch, decided that those responsible would be fined Rs1.3 million. They quarreled over the murders of Abdul Razzak Lund and Akhtar Lund four years ago over land in Ghulam Hussain Lund village in Chambarh tehsil. A child, Mor Lund, was also hit by stray bullets and later died.

The jirga took place on the second day of Eid at Baloch’s autaq in Pyaro Lund area of Jhando Marri tehsil. Baloch’s son, Raees Salman Khan Lund, who is also a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party’s Sindh council, Raees Manzoor Khan Pitafi and former union council nazim, Nabi Baksh Lund, also chaired the jirga.

The verdict held Muhammad Musa Lund’s group responsible for killing members of Saeed Khan Lund’s group. The elders imposed a fine of Rs1.3 million to be paid in installments by Musa’s group. An additional sum of Rs500,000 was also fixed as a penalty to be paid by the party that violates the decision. It could not, however, make either side pay the family of the child who was killed in the crossfire.

Baloch told The Express Tribune that a meeting was held to settle the dispute, whereas others who attended, refused to speak to local reporters and denied that it took place.

“Both groups had actually come to meet us on Eid,” he said, adding that the two sides had already reached a consensus over the terms.

He said that he finds nothing illegal in holding a jirga and justified it by asserting that it was not the type which is criticised due to the word’s diabolic suggestion. “Jirga means a meeting or coming together of the people to solve a dispute. We did not punish someone with sang chatti (giving a girl or girls in marriage to the affected party in the dispute) as is seen in the typical jirgas.”

He stressed that the affair was similar to a legal settlement over a murder dispute by the payment of khoon baha (blood money). According to Baloch, Saeed Khan’s group will withdraw from their police case and the ongoing prosecution against the men of Musa’ group. “I am a changgo murs (elder) of my community and people look to us for help.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2012.