SUKKUR: Nine people were killed and many others wounded when hand-fired rockets and other sophisticated heavy weapons were used in a fierce battle between the Kalhora and Junejo clans in the riverine village of Drighpur, near Madeji town of Shikapur district, in the early hours of Tuesday.

The two sides have long been trying to maintain and extend their occupation of the state-owned land in the kutcha area.

The battle continued for about two hours before 12 vehicles carrying a strong contingent of police rolled into the village and managed to silence the guns. The police collected the bodies and transported them to Shikapur and Larkana hospitals for a post-mortem examination. The wounded persons were also taken to the Shikarpur Civil Hospital and Larkana’s Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) for treatment.

Those who died on the spot were four brothers — Madad, Mashooq, Rashid and Marzaan, sons of Dilwar Junejo — and their two other companions, Ali Raza Junejo and Ashique Mangnejo. The dead from the Kalhora side were identified as Badal, Abrar and Saeed — all residents of Meeral Kalhoro village, situated near Madeji town.

Shikarpur SSP Tanveer Tunio and Tajo Dero DSP Shah Jahan Shah led the police contingent that moved into the battle field. Pickets were raised and the troubled area was cordoned off while deployment was made around it to prevent suspects from slipping away.

According to local reporters, the victims had to be rushed to the Madeji Taluka Hospital but area people and police did not opt for it because they knew that the health facility did not have doctors, paramedics and medicines. “This is simply a deserted concrete structure called the taluka hospital,” one reporter said. Ultimately, the bodies and wounded persons had to be taken to the far off Shikarpur Civil Hospital and CMCH, Larkana.

SSP Tunio told the media that the bodies were handed over to the elders of their respective communities amid highly volatile situation in the trouble area, where heavily armed men entrenched themselves in hideouts covered in self-grown grass.

They were buried in the communities’ graveyards, which remained heavily guarded by police during the process.

Fear and panic prevailed in the area till late Tuesday evening.

The SSP said efforts were being made to persuade the two sides to settle the matter through mediation or jirga in order to prevent a flare up.

Larkana Range DIG Mazhar Nawaz Sheikh has sought a detailed report of the incident from the SSP within the next 24 hours.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2022