Jirga decides: Tribesmen to pay Rs6.1m for killing six people

Junejo and Kalhoro tribes had been fighting with each other for more than seven months.

SUKKUR:

A dispute between the Junejo and Kalhoro tribesmen was settled during a jirga held at Dargah Miskeenpur near Gambat on Monday.

The tribesmen were fined Rs6.1 million in total for killing six people and injuring seven others in seven months. According to sources, the jirga was presided over by the gaddi nashin of the dargah, Syed Abdullah Shah Jillani, and Pakistan Peolpes Party leader Syed Jawaid Shah Jillani. Muhammad Khan Junejo and Azhar Kamario reprsented the Junejo tribe while Noorullah Magsi and Inayatullah Janwri represented the Kalhoro tribe. The jirga heard both sides of the story patiently before going into another room to make a decision.

It was decided that Kalhoro tribesmen were guilty of killing three people from the Junejo tribe and injuring four others. They were fined Rs2.5million. The Junejo tribesmen were found guilty of killing three Kalhoro men and a woman, they also injured three others. They were fined Rs3.7 million.

The jirga had fixed a fine of Rs800,000 for killing a man and Rs1.6million for killing a woman. Rs25,000 to Rs125,000 was fixed for minor and severe injuries. Both parties accepted the jirga's verdict and promised to pay the fine within two months. They vowed to bury the hatchet.

The residents claimed that the problem started seven months ago over cutting grass on each other's land. The dispute escalated and claimed six lives and left seven people injured.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2014.