QUETTA, Dec 30: A jirga declared innocent a man facing charges of killing a 10-year-old boy after he emerged unscathed from an ordeal of walking on fire to comply with a jirga verdict.

The boy, Saddam Hessian Bohar, had been killed in May. His family had named Afghan Solangi, Miwa Khan and Mohammad Shaban in the FIR, leading to a conflict between two tribes.

Elders of both families referred the case to the jirga, which decided that Afghan Solangi should prove his innocence under the tribal custom.

Coals were ignited in a 14-foot long and two-and-a-half feet deep trench and Afghan Solangi walked on them before hundreds of people. His feet were dipped in the fresh blood of a goat. The jirga examined his feet three hours later, found no burn marks and declared that he was innocent.