LOWER DIR: A jirga resolved a blood feud between two families in Timergara here on Sunday.

A function to this effect was held in Sheikhan area attended by members from the rival families, local elders, jirga members, religious figures and political activists.

Jamaat-i-Islami district chief Izazul Mulk Afkari, former provincial minister Mahmood Zeb Khan, JUI-F’s Maulana Nabi Shah and others addressed the function.

A year ago, a youth identified as Fazal Hayat was killed when two youths from the families of Sheikh Essa Mohammad of Sheikhan and Abdul Khaliq of Danwa clashed over a petty issue.

Following the incident, the jirga started efforts to resolve the issue peacefully.

The participants said the jirga system in Pakhtun society had a vital role to play in settling family disputes. They said the people had lost trust in the country’s judicial system as millions of cases had been pending in courts for years undecided.

ROAD CONSTRUCTION: The residents of Talash area on Sunday demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to immediately start work on the much-awaited Kalpani-Talash Bypass Road.

Talking to Dawn, area elders Dr Noor Mohammad, Sher Mohammad Utmankhel, former district councillor Mohammad Ibrahim and Haji Wali Rehman said construction work on the road had been stopped some six months ago due to unknown reasons.

They said the 10-kilometre road was approved by the previous PTI government in 2015 and work on it was started in 2016. They said despite the passage of seven years the project was yet to be completed.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2023