Peshawar – Nine people, including four from the same family, were killed and several others wounded when firing took place during a jirga in Barawal area of Upper Dir district on Monday, police and local residents said.
Talking to The Nation, District Police Officer Tariq Iqbal said that nine people had been killed and five injured in the incident. The official said that five prime accused in the murders have been arrested while raids were being conducted to arrest the rest of three accused, who were still at large till the filing of this report.
Meanwhile, a local resident said that the jirga over a land dispute was underway between two groups in Barawal, located 27km from Upper Dir district headquarters Dir, when the parties opened firing.
As a result, seven people were killed on the spot while two others later succumbed to injuries at hospitals. Four seriously injured, out of eight, were taken to Timergara and Peshawar for treatment while the rest were admitted to at the District Headquarters Hospital, Dir.
Local police said most of the people killed were members of the jirga and only two were from the owner of the land. Later, relatives of the deceased put the bodies on the main Dir-Peshawar Road blocking the route in protest against the killings.
The main road remained blocked for two hours, and later the district administration and police officials as well as local political elders held talks with the protesters in Chukytan area and the road was reopened thereafter. Station House Officer (SHO) of the Brawal Police Station where the incident took place was also suspended and closed to the police lines after the killings.
Meanwhile, IGP Moazzam Jah Ansari ordered RPO Malakand to arrest the culprits and submit a report to the Central Police Office in Peshawar.
He also directed police officials to ensure adequate security to jirgas and also to activate dispute resolution councils to settle enmities.