SUKKUR: A jirga (tribal court) presided over by MPA Mir Abid Khan Sundrani imposed a fine of Rs4 million on a youth belonging to the Saifullah Balkani sub-clan of maintaining an extramarital relationship with a woman from Lolai clan. The youth was also banished from the village for three months.

The jirga, held in Darri Sundrani village of Kandhkot-Kashmore district on Monday evening, heard arguments of representatives from the two sides and issued its decree.

The matter had caused an unending hostility between the two sides before it was finally taken to the jirga.

Accepting the decree, the Saifullah Balkani side deposited part of the fine amount (Rs100,000) on the spot and undertook to pay off the remaining amount within the next three months.

Trader robbed of Rs1m

Leaders of various associations of traders held a protest along with residents of Khairpur on Tuesday after armed suspects robbed a prominent businessman, Shankar Lal, who is also a leader of Pakistan Peoples Party’s minority wing in the district.

Shankar Lal told the area police that the robbers struck at his seed and fertiliser outlet, located in Khairpur along the old National Highway and snatched around Rs1 million, mobile phones and some costly items from him and his son.

Soon after the robbery, a large number of shopkeepers led by Anjuman Tajiran-i-Khairpur president Lala Abdul Ghaffar Sheikh, Abu Abdul Atif Sheikh, Altaf Memon, Garmuk Muk Makija, Kamlesh Kumar, Mir Ashiq Talpur and other traders took to the streets of Khairpur and blocked the highway.

They deplored that the personnel present at the nearby police post did not take any action to foil the robbery giving the culprits to escape easily.

They urged the Khairpur SSP to ensure arrest of the culprits within the next 24 hours and recover the booty from them. In case of police failure, the protest would be extended, they warned.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2023