During the proceedings, a man opened fire with a Kalashnikov, which was returned by the other group, resulting in injury to 10 people. PHOTO: FILE
SUKKUR:
A total of five people were killed and five others were injured in an armed clash triggered after heated arguments during a jirga held in Dadpur Jagir situated in Jacobabad on Sunday.
The jirga was held to resolve a land dispute between two groups of Jakhrani tribesmen, both of whom belonged to the Gulvani Jakhrani tribe. MNA Aijaz Jakhrani’s cousin, Sardar Noor Ahmed Jakhrani, and Shafqat Jakhrani — who is the brother of Sindh minister for youth affairs and sports Mumtaz Jakhrani — jointly presided over the jirga held within the jurisdiction of Mauladad police.
During the proceedings, a heated argument broke out between the two groups, resulting in a scuffle and people from either side started attacking each other with wooden clubs. In the mean time, a man opened fire with a Kalashnikov, which was returned by the other group, resulting in injury to 10 people.
The injured were immediately moved to Civil Hospital, Jacobabad. One of the injured, Dado Jakhrani, was being shifted to a hospital in Larkana but died on the way. Four others — Haji Mehboob Jakhrani, Allah Warayo Jakhrani, Haft Jakhrani and Zulfiqar Jakhrani — also succumbed to their injuries.
The injured are Sardar Noor Ahmed Jakhrani, Rahib Jakhrani, Ghulam Nabi Jakhrani, Allah Rakhio Jakhrani and Abdul Aziz Jakhrani. Postmortems are also being performed by doctors at Civil Hospital, Jacobabad, where a large number of Jakhrani tribesmen could be seen. One of the injured, Sardar Noor Ahmed Jakhrani, will be referred to a hospital in Karachi for further treatment.
The jirga curse
The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan has previously moved against jirgas, taking notice of one that was held in Thull in 2007 — during which five minor girls were bartered to resolve a bloody dispute between two groups of the Banglani tribe. The jirga was jointly presided over by MPA Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, who was an MNA at the time, and former taluka nazim of Thull, Akbar Banglani.
The five-member SC bench had ordered the arrest of Bijarani and 10 others for their alleged involvement in the jirga. The apex court had been taking notices of various jirga verdicts since 2004 — protecting more than 60 girls from various ‘barters’ — but it wasn’t until 2012 that jirgas were dubbed unconstitutional during a suo motu notice taken on the rape of a woman in Sheikhupura.
However, despite the ban on jirgas, the practice is still rampant in the province. Recently, a jirga to resolve a dispute between the Dahani and the Sadhaya clans was held under the presidency of Mir Manzoor Panhwar at Kot Durrani Garhi Yasin — the residence of Sindh Assembly speaker Agha Siraj Durrani. Similarly, a jirga was held at the residence of the National Assembly opposition leader, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, in Sukkur to resolve the dispute between Janwri and Shaikh tribues. Interestingly, administrative heads and police officers, instead of stopping such jirgas, take part in them to appease those who support it.
Durrani had acknowledged that jirgas are being held under the supervision of politicians despite the orders to ban them. “On the directives of Pakistan Peoples Party leader Asif Ali Zardari, we tried to resolve tribal clashes but this exercise proved to be fruitless. This is a sensitive issue which can take time to resolve.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 10th, 2014.
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Shame on the PPP and PML-N government who bring all such politicians in power who indulge in this evil practice of exchanging girls of such young age. Why doesnt PTI ever raise voice against this?