UPPER DIR: A jirga on Monday resolved a decades-old enmity between rival families in Rokhan area of Dir city.

The enmity between families of Shahi Sultan, Wazir Mohammad, Zainullah (late) and their rivals Habibullah and his brothers had been going on for last 40 years.

Local people and jirga members said up to 13 people had been killed in the bloodshed so far from both the families, adding members of one of the families had migrated to another district to escape further mayhem.

The jirga members, including former district nazim Sahibzada Faseehullah, Syed Wali Shah Bacha of Swabi, Haji Shah Wali Khan, Amir Shaheen, Haji Mohammad Baz Khan, Mushtaq Ahmad, Sahibzada Waliullah and others, succeeded in ending the enmity after efforts of almost three months.

The rival groups’ heads pardoned each other during the jirga and promised to live in peace in future. They also thanked the jirga members for amicably resolving the enmity.

The elders and residents of Rokhan also expressed their happiness over ending of the enmity. They said uncertainty had been continuing in the area due to the rivalry.

The jirga system is still preferred to courts to end old enmities and other issues among the people in Upper Dir.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2019