Govt fails to ensure peace in Peshawar’s ‘lawless’ villages

PESHAWAR: The writ of the state in some of the northern villages in the provincial capital can be gauged from the fact that rocket-launchers and heavy weapons are often used by two rival groups prompting the police to use armoured personnel carriers for patrolling the area.

The exchange of fire between the two rival parties continued on Friday and Saturday, forcing people to remain indoors. The areas remained cut off from the rest of Peshawar as thousands of rounds were fired in the fresh clash.

“The superintendent of police Warsak along with DSP and other officers are in the area. The police are making efforts to stop firing and arrest those involved,” an official said on Saturday. He said heavy contingents of police along with APCs were patrolling the streets.

A large number of jirgas, the government representatives, administration and police have failed to bring an end to the years long land dispute between the Khan family of Kafur Dheri and the members of Essakhel tribe in this area.

The dispute has claimed many lives while several others were injured as both the parties used heavy weapons against each other on several occasions in the last few years.

The situation speaks volumes about the failure of the government, police and administration that could not resolve the issue that has become a threat to the peace in the provincial capital. All the concerned departments and government seem helpless to address the issue.

“The area has become so lawless that police have to patrol the streets in armoured personnel carriers instead of jeeps and cars,” a local said. Even the APCs were attacked by the angry locals many times in the past. Tensions ran high in the villages after the two parties exchanged fire for a number of times in recent months.

The frequent exchange of fire, including the use of heavy weapons, has turned the villages into a semi-tribal area where there seems no writ of the government.

The police have lodged many cases against the people from both sides in the last few months but the situation remains the same.

The locals suggested that influential elders as well as religious scholars should be engaged to mediate between the two parties. They asked the government, police and the departments concerned to take measures to permanently resolve the issue as the dispute has disrupted law and order many times and could claim more lives.