MANSEHRA: A jirga constituted by the people of Kohistan and Diamer has failed to settle a boundary dispute between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The jirga, which held various sessions to find an amicable solution to the dispute, announced here the other day that neither the Harban tribe of Kohistan nor the Thor tribe of Diamer had accepted the conditions floated by jirga members to resolve the issue, said sources privy to the proceedings on Sunday.

The two tribes had agreed to a ceasefire till September 22 after five people from both sides were killed in exchange of fire over the issue on February 28, this year.

The sources said that the jirga first asked the Thor tribe to pay death compensation of three people to Harban tribe as it had lost only one man compared to four Harban men killed in the firing incident.

“We had accepted whatever conditions the jirga had set for us, but our rival tribe rejected these, thus failing the talks’ process,” said Assadullah Qurashi, chairman of the action committee of Harban tribe, while talking to media men.

Both Kohistan and Diamer tribes stick to their claim over the disputed territory

He said that since centuries their forefathers had been using the disputed eight kilometer territory for agriculture to earn livelihood.

“We are the legal heirs of the land and our opponents should accept it,” said Mr Qurashi. He also made it clear that if they were not given their right they would snatch it them through force.

On the other hand, Maulvi Abdul Sadiq, who leads the action committee of Thor tribe, told mediapersons that the land belonged to them and that their rivals should accept it.

It is to mention here that the Supreme Court had also constituted a commission to decide the ownership issue, but it has yet to start its work.

The people of Kohistan also blocked Karakoram Highway for many days after GB government established checkpost at the disputed territory, which was later dismantled after talks between KP and GB governments. Afterwards, the federal government set up a checkpost manned by Frontier Constabulary Rangers personnel till the resolution of the dispute.

When contacted, Akhtar Hayat Gandapur, deputy inspector general of Hazara division, told Dawn that a joint commission constituted by the federal government, having representation of both GB and KP, would decide ownership of the disputed territory.

“It is a matter among the federal, KP and GB governments and whatever decision the commission would make would be final and both the tribes should accept it to avoid further bloodshed,” he said.

He said that they were in contact with the committees of both the tribes to settle the dispute before the expiry of a ceasefire on September 22.

Published in Dawn, September 15th , 2014