LARKANA, Jan 29: A Jirga on Tuesday night settled a dispute between the Shias and the Sunnis in Shahdadkot after 12 hours of deliberation.

MNA Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, Sindh Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam general-secretary Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro, Maulana Attaullah, Alam Hassan Turabi, Syed Qamar Abbas Shah and Maulvi Abdul Wahab represented their respective sides and Mir Aamir Magsi, a former Senator, acted as the arbitrator.

The arbitrator imposed a fine of Rs1,750,000 on the Sunnis which would be paid in three instalments.

It was also decided that both the parties would withdraw all cases registered against each other.

The rival groups had exchanged fire on April 27, 1999, in which three men — Haider Abbas Selro, Imran Ali Langah and Wakeel Alihad — had been killed and Maqbool Hussain Mangi and Mohammad Hashim Manghar had been injured.

POWER BREAKDOWN: The people of the Mirokhan town held protest demonstrations here on Wednesday against power breakdown that was continuing for the last four days.

The protestors also staged a sit-in.

They ended their protest when the town was supplied electricity from a newly-constructed grid station.

SNF: A meeting of the central committee of the Sindh National Front was held here on Wednesday to take stock of the obtaining political situation in the country.

The meeting was presided over by the party’s chief, Mumtaz Ali Bhutto.

The meeting decided to boost the membership drive besides holding a convention after Eidul Azha.

The meeting criticized the local bodies system.