LOWER DIR: All the eight persons killed over a land dispute at Toormang Dara on Thursday night were laid to rest at their ancestral graveyards at Toormang-I and Toormang-II here on Friday after a jirga of elders convinced the rival parties to remain peaceful during the funerals.

The situation remained tense in the area and according to a local resident the rivals were not allowed by police to attend the funerals to avert any untoward situation.

The area was cordoned off by police throughout the day. The Khall police though registered a case against several people under sections 302, 324, 148, 149 CrPC and 7ATA, no arrests were made so far.

The incident between two influential families occurred when the rivals opened fire on each other during a funeral prayer of an elderly woman in Toormang on Thursday night.

Anti-polio drive postponed in the area amid tension

The family of former provincial minister and PML-N provincial vice-president Malik Jehan Zeb had a land dispute with the family of Malik Sherin Akbar, one of Jamaat-i-Islami’s former village council nazim.

The residents said the rivals started firing on each other after an exchange of harsh words. As a result, eight persons were killed and 12 injured.

The deceased included Malik Fahad Hayat, 30, one of the sons of Malik Jehan Zeb, from one side and four from the other, including Sherin Akbar, 53, his brother Sher Gul, 62, and their nephews Sulman, 29, and Ahsan Shah, 27. Three passers-by, including Sher Hazrat, Bakht Zamin, and one unknown person, were also killed in the crossfire.

According to district police officer Irfanullah Marwat, a case had been registered at Khall police station. He claimed to have arrested 10 persons while raids were being conducted to nab the accused.

The district administration, meanwhile, postponed the ongoing anti-polio campaign in Toormang-I and Toormang-II union councils for a couple of days.

EXPATS PROTEST: Hundreds of overseas Pakistanis from Lower Dir district staged a protest rally outside the Timergara Press Club here the other day against the suspension of flights to Saudi Arabia and demanded their immediately resumption.

Former MPA Saeed Gul and representatives of overseas Pakistanis Amir Zaman and Ijaz Arshad alleged said the government ignored the expatriates on many occasions.

Haji Amir said around 1.5 million Pakistanis had come from abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic, who wanted to return to resume duty.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2021