Controversial piece of land: One killed, three injured as residents of Diamer and Kohistan clash

Armed men from both sides took up positions to defend ‘their’ land.

GILGIT: At least one person was killed and three others were injured after residents of Gilgit-Baltistan’s (G-B) Diamer Valley and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohistan district clashed over a disputed territory.

The status of nearly 10 kilometres of land on both sides of Basari check post, which separates the two regions, is disputed and often leads to unrest between residents of Diamer and Kohistan.

According to sources in Chilas in G-B and Kohistan, the deceased has been identified as Zar Ghani, son of Hazrat Nabi, a resident of Harban village of Kohistan. “Three others from Kohistan were injured in the clash on Wednesday night,” said Mujeebur Rahman, a resident of Chilas.

A long drawn affair

A Grand Jirga comprising clerics and politicians from Diamer left for Kohistan early Thursday morning to pacify the warring parties, shared Rahman.

The boundary issue flared up again a week ago after residents of Kohistan forcibly took away more than 400 goats allegedly belonging to the residents of Diamer. The goats were grazing on the land claimed by both sides.

The people of Chilas blocked Karakoram Highway in protest and registered a case at the Chilas police station. Angered over the theft of livestock and vowing to defend their land, residents of Diamer’s Thor Valley, armed with guns, took positions in the mountains.

A similar situation was witnessed in Harban village of Kohistan as people there took up arms too. According to residents of Diamer, both parties exchanged fire throughout Wednesday night. As a result, Zar Ghani died and three of his relatives sustained injuries.

“Police have been moved to the site after reports of firing,” said Khushal Khan, an official at the Chilas police station.

In an attempt to broker a ceasefire between the warring parties, DIG Ali Sher was assigned by the G-B government to meet representatives from both sides and settle the issue. He was reportedly assisted by a local jirga in Chilas.

The federal government last month had stepped in to resolve the issue, referring it to a boundary commission for permanent settlement. Paramilitary forces were stationed along the disputed territory to defuse the tension till a decision by the commission was made, however, the latest incident has refuelled the issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2014.