LAKKI MARWAT, Aug 4: Elders from Abakhel and Dallokhel villages on Saturday held a jirga with notables of Lakki Marwat city to defuse tension over the losses in urban locality during a protest demonstration by the villagers against loadshedding a few days ago.

The villagers had held a protest demonstration against power outages in Lakki city on July 31 wherein some protesters ransacked and torched local Pesco offices and damaged electricity and gas metres.

Taking a serious notice of the damage done by the villagers, the notables of Lakki city had banned the entry of JUI-F district chief Maulana Abdul Rahim and former nazim Johar Mohammad, who had led the protesters, into Lakki city.

They had also asked the people from the two villages to stop business in the urban locality. Fearing that the tension between the two sides could lead to a confrontation between the villagers and residents of urban locality, the elders agreed to resolve the matter amicably. They held a reconciliatory jirga in Eidgah at Lakki city on Saturday.

Former federal secretary Akhtar Munir Marwat, MPA Munawar Khan, Raees of Eesakkhel Mohammad Aslam, former tehsil nazim Fareedullah Khan and former city nazim Niamatullah Khan represented the residents of Lakki city, while JUI-F district chief Maulana Abdul Rahim, former nazim Johar Mohammad, Malik Ishaq, Zarwali Khan and others attended the jirga on behalf of Abakhel and Dallokhel villagers.

Speaking at the jirga, Maulana Rahim expressed his sorrow over the losses and said that the village elders wanted to end misunderstanding between both sides. He said that ransacking of properties was done by some youngsters and it was not ordered by the elders.

Later, the Lakki city elders accepted their request for reconciliation and said that they should work jointly for peace in the area.