Nine killed in firing at Upper Dir jirga

DIR: Nine people, including four of a family, were killed and eight injured when some people opened fire at a jirga in Bandagai Barawal area of Upper Dir on Monday, police and locals said. The jirga was being held to resolve a land dispute between two groups when the situation grew tense after heated arguments.

Seven people were killed on the spot while some succumbed to injuries at the hospitals. Four seriously injured out of eight were rushed to Timergara and Peshawar for treatment while the rest were taken to the District Headquarters Hospital in Dir. Two injured died at the hospital.

Barawal is situated some 27 kilometres to the west near the border with Afghanistan. Police and locals said most of the killed people were members of the jirga trying to resolve the dispute. The relatives of the slain persons placed the bodies on the Dir-Peshawar road to stage a protest. The road remained closed for traffic for two hours.

Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Shoaib along with other officials and police officers held talks with the protesters in Chukytan. The protesters reopened the road after being assured that the accused would soon be brought to justice. Meanwhile, the station house officer of the Barawal Police Station where the incident took place was suspended and closed to the Police Lines in Dir.