Firing victims laid to rest amid tense calm in Lower Dir

TIMERGARA: The Lower Dir remained tense as the victims of the Tormang firing incident were laid to rest in separate graveyards on Friday.

The entire district remained tense after the gory incident in which seven persons were killed and 12 others injured when two rival groups traded fire during the funeral prayer of a woman over a land dispute at Tormang on Thursday night.

The injured were shifted to the DHQ hospital Timergara for treatment where emergency was declared and hundreds of people from suburban villages of Timergara and Balambat reached the hospital to donate blood to the injured.

Local sources said that Sherin Akbar and Sher Gul, sons of Malik Haroon, had a land dispute with Malik Jehanzeb, provincial vice-president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The two rival groups exchanged harsh words during the funeral prayer of a woman and exchanged fire.

Seven persons including Malik Fahad, son of Jehanzeb, Sherin Akbar, Sher Gul, Salman, Sher Hazrat, Bakht Zamin and Hassan Shah were killed on the spot. Two of the slain were stated to be passersby.

Bilal, Atiqur Rahman, Zahid Usman, Muhammad Bilal, Farman, Naveed, Danish, Sher Hazrat, Aizaz, Ali Akbar, Anwar Akbar and Mehtab Hayat sustained injuries in the firing incident.

The sources said a jirga was held to settle the issue between the two groups two days ago which sought 10 days from the rival groups to settle the issue peacefully. Meanwhile, a heavy contingent of police had been deployed in the area and the situation is stated to be under control. “Yes, a heavy contingent of police has been deployed and things are under control,” said a police official.