DADU: A jirga attended by a number of PPP elected representatives, a federal minister, an adviser to the chief minister and tribal chiefs settled on Thursday a blood feud between Chandio and Jatoi tribesmen over possession of a tract of 80 acres in the riverine area of Dadu taluka.

The jirga held at the residence of PPP MNA Rafique Ahmed Jamali in Bahawalpur village, 12 kilometres from here, took 10 hours to reach a verdict on the five-year-long feud which claimed lives of 11 people and left 32 injured on both sides.

It was chaired by tribal chief of the Panhwar tribe, Mir Manzoor Panhwar, and attended by federal minister Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi, tribal chief Nawab Sardar Ahmed Chandio, his younger brother Burhan Khan Chandio, Dr Ibrahim Jatoi, tribal chief Datal Khan Jamali, adviser to Sindh chief minister Mumtaz Chandio, PPP MPA Syed Ghulam Shah Jilani and PPP MNA Rafique Ahmed Jamali.

The jirga imposed a fine amounting to several millions of rupees to settle the dispute between the groups of Ghulam Ali Chandio and Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi.

According to witnesses who testified before the jirga members, six men of the Jatoi tribe — Zamir, Nazeer, Gul Baig, Mubeen, Ghulam Rasool and Atif Ali — were murdered and 15 others were injured by Chandio tribesmen and five men of the Chandio tribe — Mehboob, Nabi Bux, Amin, Rahib and Sakhi — were killed and 17 were injured by Jatoi tribesmen in clashes over the years.

Two passersby, Begum Soni Chahwan and Bahadur Korejo, were also killed after being caught in the crossfire between the warring groups, said the witnesses.

The jirga announced Rs2 million as blood money for the murder of the passersby, which both the Chandios and Jatois would pay to the heirs, Rs1 million each.

The verdict said that Rs169.9 million fine was imposed on both groups, Rs9.28 million on the Chandios and Rs7.71 million on the Jatois, while of the 80-acre disputed land, 50 acres would be handed over to the Jatois, 15 acres each to Chandios and Korejo tribesmen.

The jirga decided that Jatoi tribesmen would purchase 15 acres given to Chandio tribesmen at the rate of Rs100,000 per acre and warned if any party to the dispute did not follow the verdict, the fine amount would be doubled.

After announcement of the verdict, both Chandio and Jatoi tribesmen embraced each other and distributed sweets.

No journalist was allowed into the residence where the jirga was held and armed men of both tribes had taken up positions in the area before and during the course of the jirga which caused harassment in the area and made it a virtual no-go area for other area people.

A heavy contingent of police led by four DSPs and six SHOs and a CIA team were deployed in Bahawalpur village to avert any untoward incident should things went out of control and both groups resumed rivalry.

The jirga proceedings started in the evening and continued well into the night.

Published in Dawn October 2nd, 2015

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