MANSEHRA: The residents of Kohistan ended their sit-in on Karakoram Highway temporarily after elders of Thor village of Chilas reached Harban area of the district along with cattle and women to settle the boundary dispute between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan according to local traditions.

“It is a great breakthrough that people of Thor reached Harban along with women and cattle to settle the dispute as both tribes, Thor and Harban, are claiming ownership of the disputed eight kilometres land at the boundary between KP and GB,” Fazl-i-Khaliq, the deputy commissioner Kohistan, told journalists on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, ulema, elders and tribal people including 20 women reached Harban from Thor along with cattle and met with the local elders, asking them to settle the issue according to local customs.

The tribesmen of Thor were led by Dilbar Jan, who had lost his son in clashes with Harban tribe over the dispute.

The elders and ulema of Harban accepted the arrival of Thor tribe and extended hospitality as a gesture of goodwill and didn’t stage sit-in on Karakoram Highway.

Assadullah Qureshi, the chairman of action committee, announced that a jirga of their tribes would be held on Monday (Today) to settle the land dispute and other related issues.

He said that as long as their guests (tribesmen of Thor) were present in their area, they would not stage sit-in. A joint strategy would be evolved to force the federal government to make public the report of one-man commission on ownership of disputed land between KP and GB.

The deputy commissioner said that a five-member jirga of both sides had been active for the last many days to settle the issue. Finally the people of Thor reached Harban for settlement for the issue once for all, he added.

Kohistanis have threatened last week that they would block Karakoram Highway on May 15 permanently if the federal government didn’t make public the one-man boundary commissions report.

Attaullah, a local resident, told journalists that the arrival of Harban elders manifested the success of talks. “Our people honour women. The bringing of cattle means that they are ready to pay Diyat (blood money) of those three people, who were killed in the clashes some three years ago,” he said.

Attaullah said that four tribesmen, three from Harban and one from Thor, were killed in the clashes. “Now Diyat of two people can be paid in accordance with local customs and traditions,” he added.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2016