HYDERABAD: In the Jacobabad area of Mirpur Buriro, tension continues between two communities following a love marriage, while fear and panic have gripped the locality.
According to reports, a 14-year-old girl, Sidra, belonging to the Channa community, allegedly married Muhammad Hassan Buriro of the Buriro community by choice.
Following the marriage, both teenagers are reportedly still in hiding. After the incident, the groom Muhammad Hassan Buriro’s entire family vacated their home and shifted to an undisclosed location.
Local residents said the situation turned serious nearly 10 days after the marriage when the girl’s relatives and their supporters allegedly attacked village Muhammad Sadiq Arain and set several houses on fire.
Household belongings were completely destroyed in the blaze, while affected families claimed they suffered losses worth hundreds of thousands of rupees.
An FIR was registered at Mirpur Buriro Police Station. The case was lodged on the complaint of Ghulam Shabbir Buriro against 32 accused persons, including Mohsin Ali Channa, Saddam Hussain Channa, Abdullah Channa, Muhammad Rafiq Bhatti, Jehangir, Munir Ahmed and Kaleemullah Brohi, among others.
According to the FIR, hundreds of people attacked the village and torched multiple houses. The situation in the area remains tense, and fear has forced several families to stay confined to their homes, locals said.
Meanwhile, political, social and religious figures are making efforts to broker reconciliation between the two groups and restore normalcy in the area to prevent any further untoward incident.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Faizan Ali said that a case has been registered under the anti-Terrorism act and five suspects have been arrested so far, while raids are underway to apprehend the remaining accused.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has taken serious notice of the shocking incident in Jacobabad where an entire village was allegedly set ablaze following a so-called “love marriage”, with more than 100 houses reportedly torched in the attack.
In a statement issued to the media on Saturday, the chief minister termed the burning of over a hundred homes an “inhuman and intolerable act” and sought an immediate report from the commissioner and the DIG of Larkana Division.
He directed the police to launch strict action against all those involved and ordered the Larkana commissioner to provide urgent relief and assistance to the affected families. The chief minister also instructed the DIG Larkana to ensure full protection for the victims and stressed that a thorough investigation must determine under whose orders the houses were set on fire.
“No one can be allowed to play with the lives and property of innocent people,” the chief minister said, warning that all perpetrators would be brought to justice.
