SWAT: Unidentified persons burned 95 huts in six summer pastures in Jabba area of Mankiyal valley here, said the residents of Baddai and Serrai area.

They said that the huts were burnt to ashes on Tuesday night. They said that the huts were used by shepherds during the summer when they moved their cattle to the pasture for grazing for about five months every year.

“This is the place where an under-construction PTDC resort was also burnt down two decades ago. This is one of the most beautiful scenic places, identified and chosen for tourist resorts recently by the ministry of tourism.

“This heinous crime must be investigated as this act has not only jeopardised the construction of the road to this beautiful pasture and the construction of the tourist resort but will also affect the relations between the two communities -- Torwali and Gujjars -- inhabiting the valley,” said Zubari Torwali, a culture activist in Bahrain.

The residents of Mankiyal valley said that there was a dispute between the Torwali and Gujjar communities over the ownership of the pastures.

“The issue of burning huts and other harms is not a new phenomenon in the area. Last year, hundreds of sheep were also burnt to death in the same pasture,” said Wali Khan, a resident of Mankiyal. He added that a case was also underway in courts between the two communities.

The residents of the area also said that due to the dispute between the two communities and the case in the court, the huts were not in use for some years.

Assistant Commissioner Sikandar Khan, when contacted, said that a land dispute between Gujjars and Torwali was under-trial in Supreme Court of Pakistan. “FIR has been lodged by police against 17 suspects while further investigation is underway,” he told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2020