Houses set ablaze over land dispute in Mansehra

MANSEHRA: The Akazai and Gujjar tribes have set ablaze over two dozen houses of each other over the land dispute in Torghar district.

“We have convened a grand jirga on September 25 in order to defuse the prevailing tension between two major tribes. The deputy commissioner and district police officer will also attend the jirga,” District Nazim Dilroz Khan told reporters on Saturday.

He said that both tribes had agreed not to cultivate or harvest crops in disputed piece of land stretched over a wide area in the district but the Gujjar tribes violated the mutually agreed accord and cut grass from the disputed land and Akazai tribe set their houses ablaze. “In retaliation, the Gujjars also set ablaze houses of Akazai compelling police to lodge first information report against both tribes,” said Dilroz Khan. He added that winter houses of both tribes were set ablaze in Khane Lari and Chuar area of district as no causality is reported from both sides.

“Thanks God, nobody is killed in fire on both sides but in order to bury this dispute permanently grand jirga would be called by all five tribes settled in district since centuries,” said Dilroz Khan.

He added that the deputy commissioner and district police officer would also attend jirga along with elders of five major tribes in the district.

President of Pakistan in 2011 had given Torghar a status of a settled district from a tribal belt of Mansehra district but the jirga system is still considered as key to decide major judicial issues.