KHAIRPUR: Two brothers were killed and four other members of their community were wounded in an armed clash between two families over the ownership of a 28-acre piece of agricultural land in Nandhro Lashari village of Faiz Ganj taluka of Khairpur district on Friday.

Reports from the area said that the families had been at odds over the property for long. On Friday, heads of the two families and their sons challenged each other and fought a gun battle in the village.

The clash left two brothers, Allah Bachayo Lashari and Kashif Lashari, and a member of their community, Shahnawaz Lashari dead. Four other persons, Sajid, Abid, Allah Wadhayo and Waqar, also members of their community, sustained bullet wounds and were rushed to the Faiz Ganj Govt Hospital for treatment.

Later, Abid Lashari was referred to the Nawabshah Civil Hospital due to his precarious condition.

The bodies were handed over to the heirs after legal formalities at the Faiz Ganj hospital.

A strong contingent of police was sent to the village to bring the situation under control. However, tension gripped the village due the fear of flare-up. People remained indoors and police personnel remained deployed at different spots to prevent further violence.

Soon after the fierce clash, families and relatives of the victims carrying the bodies took out a rally and proceeded to the nearby section of Mehran Highway and held a protest demonstration.

The highway remained blocked during the course of the protest causing hardship to commuters and pedestrians for several hours.

The protesters were demanding arrest of the killers.

MPA Sajid Khan Bhanbhan, along with senior police officers of the area, held negotiations with the protesters and assured them that the culprits would be arrested and punished as soon as possible. On his assurance, the protesters dispersed and took the bodies to the community’s graveyard for burial.

SUKKUR: A woman sustained bullet wounds when she was caught in crossfire during a battle between armed members of Odho and Jakhrani communities in the Dao Jahanpur area near Jacobabad on Friday.

The clash lasted two hours but the bone of contention between the embattled groups could not be known immediately.

The guns fell silent only when police arrived in the area. The armed men, however, stayed alert within their fortified positions till late in the evening.

Meanwhile, the wounded woman, Arbeli Brohi, 28, wife of Ghulam Yaseen Brohi, was taken to the Jacobabad Civil Hospital and provided treatment. Her condition was later stated to be out of danger.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2019