KOHAT, Feb 11: The Bangash tribe of Mohamadzai area of Kohat announced to boycott the Feb 18 polls in protest against their representatives’ failure to resolve their land dispute with the Bezote tribe of Orakzai Agency.

About 400 elders of the tribe on Monday regretted that since 1947 the government and the elected representatives had been making false promises with them to resolve their land dispute. Therefore, the elders deemed it fit to boycott the polls in protest. They said they would poll votes only if a candidate deposits five million rupees with the jirga as surety that he would resolve the dispute.

They criticised the assistant co-ordination officer, Mudassar Riaz Malik, the assistant political agent of lower Orakzai for not attending the Monday's meeting as promised.

They warned the tribesmen that if anybody violated this decision and polled votes, he would be expelled from the area.

The Mohamadzai tribe also decided to remove all flags of different political parties in the area and hosted black flags to show their resentment.

It may be recalled that the dispute over more than 2,000 kanals of land between Bezotes of Orakzai and Bangashs of Mohamadzai dates back to 1887.

Both the tribes fought many battles over it and now 150 houses had been constructed over the land.