MANSEHRA: The armed tribesmen from Kolai-Palas and Allai areas abandoned positions at hilltops in the disputed Chorr valley defusing tensions.

“The armed men have returned to Kolai-Palas and Allai after I held told them in a jirga that the chief minister has set up a judicial commission to settle the pre-Partition dispute once and for all,” Kolai-Palas district police officer Salman Khan told reporters on Friday.

Mr Salman said for the first time, a contingent of the police and Elite Force went to the remote Chorr valley to defuse tensions between rival tribes.

He claimed that though the situation was very volatile as tribesmen were stationed in bunkers, he went to the area on the orders of deputy inspector general of police Mirvais Niaz and brought the situation under control.

DPO says judicial body formed to resolve issue

The DPO said Chief Minister Mahmood Khan had ordered the formation of a judicial commission for an effective resolution of the issue as both Kolai-Palas and Allai’s tribes laid claim to the valley, which was covered by snow for six to seven months a year.

BANNED: The administration has banned the entry of the tourists not vaccinated against coronavirus to Mansehra district, especially Balakot tehsil’s Kaghan valley.

In an order issued on Friday, deputy commissioner Dr Qasim Ali Khan said the fourth coronavirus wave was serious and the health department had recorded a ‘constant surge’ in the virus cases in Mansehra district, so hotels couldn’t entertain tourists not vaccinated against that infection.

He added that the entry ban was slapped on such tourists in light of the provincial government’s orders.

The DC warned that the violators of ban would be dealt with strictly.

FINED: Assistant commissioner of Baffa-Pakhal Arshad Mehmood has fined dozens of traders for flouting standard operating procedures set by the government for businesses.

Mr Mehmood told reporters that an action was taken over the rising Covid-19 cases in the district.

He said the educational institutions, whose students and teachers tested positive for the virus, were being closed.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2021