QUETTA: Five people, including the father and two brothers of a local leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), were killed and another was injured in a clash between two groups in the Sulemanzai area of Musakhel district of Balochistan on Thursday.

Levies officials said that the exchange of fire continued for an hour, resulting in the death of five people on both sides.

“The motive behind the armed clash was a land dispute,” said the assistant commissioner of Musakhel, who rushed to the clash site soon after receiving information about the incident along with Levies personnel.

Levies officials said that the deceased included the father and two brothers of Alam Khan, PTI’s Musakhel district president. The bodies and the injured were taken to the district hospital, Musakhel.

According to reports, a heavy contingent of Levies has been deployed in the Sulemanzai area to avert further clashes between the rival groups. Levies have registered a case and started investigation, but no arrest has been reported so far in this regard.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020