MANSEHRA, March 24: The situation in the tribal area of Kala Dhaka turned tense after a Tablighi Jamaat member was killed during an exchange of fire between two tribes over a land dispute on Sunday night.

Sources said the dispute between Madakhail and Chamgah tribes had claimed over two dozen lives during the last five years.

The Tablighi Jamaat member, Shah Zaman, hailing from the Bajaur Agency’s Khar area, was killed on Sunday night.

Following his killing, the Madakhail tribe constituted a Lashkar to attack the Chamgah area, but the tribal administration intervened and averted the clash. The situation is still tense because rival tribesmen armed with heavy weapons are entrenched against each other.

When contacted, the area’s political tehsildar, Jamshad Khan, said that to avert any clash between the two tribes and ensure lasting peace in the area, a jirga of the tribes of the area was held on Monday, which was participated by elders of the area.

He said the jirga had declared to take the people responsible for the killing of the Tablighi Jamaat member into custody and kill them. “I assured the jirga that the political administration will bring the culprits to justice and award them severe punishment because we want peace in the region,” he said.

He said that on his assurance the jirga asked the Madakhail tribe not to attack the Chamgah tribe and wait for action by the political administration.

The body of Mr Zaman was dispatched to Khar, the headquarters of Bajaur tribal region.