Four killed as rivals trade fire in Battagram

BATTAGRAM: At least four persons were killed and five others injured when two rival groups exchanged fire over a land dispute in Cham Saidaan area in Battagram district on Saturday.

Police sources said the members of rival groups exchanged harsh words and traded fire early in the morning. As a result, Anwar Ali Shah, Muzarab Shah, Shahzada and Ziaullah died on the spot. The injured were shifted to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Battagram for medical treatment while some serious injured were referred to Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad.

At the DHQ Hospital, Deputy Medical Superintendent (DMS) Dr Rahim Shams said that five injured persons were brought in the morning, with two in critical condition. “The hospital team is doing everything possible to stabilise the injured. Additional medical staff has been called in to handle the emergency,” he added.

District Police Officer Battagram Ayaz Khan said that the situation was now under control.

“This dispute dates back nearly three decades. Unfortunately, despite multiple reconciliatory efforts, tensions have continued to simmer between the two groups,” he stated.

“Police contingents have been deployed in the area to prevent any further escalation.”

Attaullah Khan, a local elder and member of the jirga formed to resolve the long-standing conflict, lamented the failure to prevent the bloodshed. “The fight between these two groups in Cham Saidaan was sadly not unexpected. As a member of the Jirga, I have tried time and again to mediate, but the parties remained unwilling to compromise. This barren, disputed land has taken too many lives,” he added.

Hazrat Yousaf, a senior leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), said: “The bloody fight over a property dispute in Cham Saidan tekri was extremely painful, in which four precious lives were lost.”