SUKKUR, Oct 25: A jirga settled a dispute between the Jagirani and Solangi tribes here on Monday. The dispute, which started some three months back resulted in clashes which left 17 people dead and 14 others, including two women, wounded from both sides.

According to the verdict of the jirga, held amid tight police security at the circuit house, a fine of Rs4.5 million was imposed on the Solangi tribe while the Jagirani tribe was fined Rs3.5 million. The tribes were asked to pay Rs300,000 as compensation for each of the tribesmen killed and Rs600,000 for the killing of tribeswomen. Fines ranging between Rs25,000 and Rs150,000 were also imposed for people injured in the dispute, depending the gravity of injuries.

The verdict said the fines would be adjusted and if there was a difference it would be paid by the Solangi tribe to the Jagirani tribe.

The jirga, however, failed to settle a land dispute which has led to clashes between the tribes, and decided that the land documents of both tribes would be scrutinized and a decision would be taken later.

The jirga warned that any tribe found indulging in an offensive attack would be fined Rs1 million. It accepted the killing of eight Jagiranis, including a woman, and injury to 10 people, including two women, while the Solangis claimed that 10 of their people, including a woman, had been killed and four others injured. The matter of the killing of two Solangi tribesmen in a bomb blast was not decided.

When this correspondent contacted Sukkur DPO Ghulam Shabbir Shaikh and sought his comments over the jirga verdict and about the killers who were at large, he said he was against the jirga meeting due to which the killers had been set free.

He said that despite pressure he had not attended the jirga, saying that both tribes were in possession of illegal arms. The DPO warned that Solangi tribesmen would commit highway robberies to collect the fine amount.

This was the second jirga of its kind during a week's time. The first Jirga was held in Ghotki some three days back, in which senior police officials, including the Ghotki DPO, the zila nazim and the naib nazim and sardars participated.

Provincial Minister Manzoor Panhwar, Sardar Ahmed Ali Pitafi, Mir Sunder Khan Sundrani, JSQM Chairman Bashir Qureshi, KhairpurDistrict Nazim Syeda Nafisa Shah, Naib Nazim Irshad Bibi , Sardar Shabbir Ahmed Solangi and senior police officials also attended the jirga.