MANSEHRA: Members of a commission formed by the government to settle the Choar valley land dispute visited the area on Thursday.

The tribes of Kola-Pales and Battagram districts lay a claim to the valley.

“The commission members are present in the valley. Except for an incident of firing in the air, the overall situation is normal,” district police officer of Kolai-Palas Mukhtar Shah told reporters on Thursday.

He said deputy commissioner of Kolai-Palas Shahjehan Khan and assistant commissioner of Allai area Abdul Hameed had left Pattan for Choar valley in line with the orders of the commissioners of Hazara and Malakand divisions.

The DPO said the valley was located a highly difficult and almost inaccessible area. He said he was in constant contact with lawmakers and MNA Prince Nawaz Khan of Allai area.

“Prince Nawaz has assured me that nobody from his tribes will take the law into own hands as they also want the commission to work in an impartial and tension-free environment,” he said.

When contacted, former MPA Maulana Asmatullah of Kolai-Palas said though gunmen from Allai had targeted his tribesmen, the situation was calm.

A jirga was held in Akora Khattak area to settle the issue. It, however, didn’t achieve success.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2020