KOHAT, Jan 14: The administration has summoned a jirga of the elders of rival groups of Hangu on Thursday to sort out differences between them and restore lasting peace in the district.

Both the groups had been fighting over the issue of the mourners’ procession route for the last few years. The government would try to solve the issue at the jirga by taking both the sides into confidence.

The administration invited the same 12-member jirga which had brokered ceasefire in Hangu. It would be a lengthy and thorny issue and could take weeks and months but the people who suffered in the recent war now wanted to settle it once and for all, District Police Officer Sajjad Khan said.

More than 50 people who were injured in the five-day clashes had been admitted to various hospitals of Hangu and Kohat for treatment.

So far, 18 bodies had been recovered from various parts of Hangu where clashes had taken place between rival groups for five days, DPO Sajjad Khan informed this scribe by telephone from Hangu. Police and jirga members were still busy in search for more bodies.

The affected area could not be combed as it was still not accessible owing to security reasons. Police and army were patrolling the city.

He said that all routes had been sealed and official vehicles were also being searched as a precautionary measure.

All bazaars in Hangu remained closed on the sixth day causing a lot of trouble to the people. The jirga members were in contact with both the groups to implement ceasefire. Shoot at sight orders were still intact as uneasy calm prevailed in the city.

More than 50 people had been reportedly killed in the fierce clashes between the rival groups who used heavy weapons against each other. Nine bodies were brought to Kohat and security forces were trying to collect all the bodies in Ganjiano Kallay, Sangerh Mohallah, Pass Kallay and Pat Bazaar where people were burnt inside their houses.