DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Six people, including two brothers, were killed and two others sustained injuries as rivals traded gunfire in Shah Hasankhel area of Panyala tehsil in here on Thursday.

According to police, the armed clash erupted in the limits of Panyala police station. They said that two rival groups opened fire on each other. They said that five members of one group were killed in exchange of fire. One person from the other group was killed, they added.

They said two others sustained injuries during the clash and were shifted to the hospital for treatment. The deceased were identified as Naqeebullah, Hidayatullah, who were brothers, Tahir, Zubair and Sher Nawaz. The identity of the sixth victim could not be confirmed.

Police said that the incident was result of old enmity.

A large number of locals from Abdulkhel and adjoining villages, carrying white flags, headed towards Shah Hassankhel in an effort to broker a ceasefire between the rival groups and prevent further bloodshed through a traditional jirga.

Meanwhile, a stamp vendor was arrested at district courts on allegations of issuing forged electronic stamp papers after a complaint by a senior lawyer led to a judicial inquiry.

The action was taken on the orders of the district and sessions judge after a complaint was filed by advocate of high court Saleem Khan Baloch.

According to the complaint, the lawyer had asked his clerk to purchase an electronic court fee stamp worth Rs15,000 from stamp vendor Ahsan Ejaz Qureshi. However, when the QR code printed on the e-stamp paper was scanned, it allegedly revealed a value of only Rs150, suggesting that the document had been digitally altered to appear as a Rs15,000 court fee stamp.

Acting on the complaint, senior civil judge conducted a raid on district courts and ordered the arrest of the stamp vendor. Legal proceedings against the suspect were subsequently initiated.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2026