Land dispute: Rival tribes again trade fire

MIRANSHAH: People hailing from different clans of the Khadikhel and Machikhel tribes again took positions and continued exchanging sporadic fire the previous night over the land dispute in Mir Ali tehsil in North Waziristan tribal district, sources said on Wednesday.

The Khadikhel tribe, the sources said, also blocked the Miranshah-Bannu road and suspended the vehicular traffic for hours in protest against the rival tribe who, according to them, had occupied their ancestral land in the area. However, Deputy Commissioner Shahid Ali and District Police Officer Shafiullah Gandapur rushed to the spot and brokered a ceasefire between the infighting tribes during their visit to the positions. The officials also opened the Miranshah-Bannu road for traffic. DC Shahid Ali said that serious efforts were being made to resolve the issue with mutual consultation. He said that no one would be allowed to take law into their hands.

Earlier, the joint efforts of DC and DPO had convinced the rival tribes to settle the land dispute through jirga. The rival tribes had earlier also blocked the Miranshah-Bannu road at several points in protest over land dispute.

The people of Khadikhel, Eidak, Norak and Azizkhel tribes in Mir Ali tehsil had erected barricades on the Miranshah-Bannu road at several points and blocked it for vehicular traffic in protest against the ongoing dispute on ownership of land in the area. They had also laid an iron chain on the main electricity transmission line and disconnected the power supply to entire North Waziristan. However, the Dc and DPO continued their efforts and finally succeeded to resolve the land disputes between the rival tribes through peaceful means. It was decided that a jirga would be formed to settle the issues of disputed lands while the police were deployed in the area. The DC and DPO were personally monitoring the situation so the unscrupulous elements could not exploit the issue. Also, the district administration in collaboration with the Tesco authorities restored the power supply to the district. Land in the seven erstwhile Fata districts along the Pak-Afghan border is often owned collectively and lacks official records.