Age-old rivalry: Clashes leave couple dead, three injured

Groups of farmers attacked a landowner and his workers over a land dispute.

CHARSADDA: A couple was killed and three other people were injured in a clash between groups of farmers and a landowner in Mandani, Charsadda on Monday morning.

The gunfight started around 6am and continued till 4pm. The situation spun out of control and resulted in casualties, despite police intervention, a Mandani police official said.



The official added, on Monday morning they went to Shakoor and Baram Khan Dheri areas in Mandani and evicted some farmers who had allegedly occupied lands owned by Nadir Khan. Afterwards, groups belonging to farmers Muhammad Shah Ali, Shamil Bangash, and Afzal Khamosh attacked Nadir and his workers, killing Hakeem Khan along with his wife Nazia.

Three others were also injured, including Faraz, Hamza and Fouzia Bibi, a schoolteacher. They were taken to District Headquarters Hospital Charsadda and then referred to hospitals in Peshawar due to their critical injuries.



According to the police official, no one has filed a report of the incident. “It is their personal dispute which has been going on for generations and has claimed many lives,” he said, adding the situation will settle down in a few days with the help of a local jirga.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2014.