KOHAT: Elders, women and children blocked the Indus Highway in Akhorwal area of the Kohat’s Darra Adamkhel tribal subdivision on Tuesday against a divisional commissioner’s decision on coal royalty, which they alleged favoured their rival group.

The members of the Jumma Baz group blocked the road against their rival Mir Afzal group.

During the protest, which continued for about six hours, a 10-year-old boy, namely Ahad, died.

The road blockage resulted in long queues of vehicles on both sides of the busy artery.

The dispute over coal royalty has been running since 2014 with each clan of the main Akhorwal tribe accusing the other of taking undue share.

After the tribes opposed the decisions of local committees on coal royalty issue, the matter was referred to the commissioner.

However, the Jumma Baz group refused to accept the commissioner’s decision, and decided to protest.

Darra assistant commissioner Mir Nawaz held lengthy negotiations with the leaders of the protesting Jumma Baz clan along with tribal elders from five tribes of the region, making the protesters to open the road.

It was decided that elders from both the groups would meet Kohat deputy commissioner Azmatullah Wazir on Wednesday (today) to find a lasting solution to the matter.

WATER PUMPS RECOVERED: The police on Tuesday recovered two stolen submersible water pumping machines from a house in Jabbar area of Gumbat tehsil.

SHO Riaz Hussain said that he along with a team conducted several raids and reached the thieves based on human intelligence.

He said that they recovered the costly machines from the house of Fakhar Alam, whose two sons were found involved in the theft. They were identified as Zafar Khan and Asif Khan. The SHO said that the two brothers were ice drug addicts.

He said that a case had been registered against them.

Meanwhile, a fire that erupted at a furniture factory late Monday night near the railway crossing on Bannu Road turned everything into ashes.

The factory owner, Zahid, called the Rescue 1122, which put out the blaze.

The reason behind the fire could not be known.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2024