October 14, 2008	Tuesday	Shawwal 14, 1429

TIMERGARA, Oct 13: A jirga of local elders on Monday resolved a 30-year-old feud that had claimed 24 lives from both sides.

The jirga led by Jamaat-i- Islami provincial chief Sirajul Haq was held at Sadbar Kalay, Samar Bagh, and was attended by more than 200 elders of the area. Members of the rival parties Malik Zareen Khan of Maskini, Dir Lower, and Malik Aqal Zareen Khan of Barawal, Dir Upper, were also present on the occasion.

Both the parties denounced their enmity and vowed to live like brothers in future. Malik Zareen, who had been the governor of Kunar province in Afghanistan, is a powerful figure in the area.

Sirajul Haq termed the reconciliation between the two parties a great achievement and appreciated the role of those who started negotiations between them. He called upon the federal and provincial government to resume talks with the Taliban so that peace could be brought back to the country.

“If Malik Zareen and Malik Aqal Zareen can end their bloody feud through talks and jirga, why not the government can ink peace deal with fighting Taliban,” he asked. He said that the nation was fighting an American war.