KHANEWAL

Seven persons including four siblings - two brothers and as many sisters - were killed in a gunfight over a land dispute near Pull Lohar, Nusratpur area on Sunday.
The rival groups fought a pitched battle in Mauza Jangal (Nusratpur), Loharwala Pull, Tehsil Mian Channu in the Talumba police precincts.
The bloody incident also left six persons including two women and passersby critically injured. However, rescuers of Rescue 1122 shifted the dead bodies and injured to hospital.
The police said that the two groups - Panwar Rajput and Sukhera - have been locked in enmity over a small piece of land since the past seven years.
Whereas, locals say that armed men from both the groups often engage in crossfire and have also attempted to create chaos in the area several times.
The deceased were identified as: Abdul Majeed, son of Noor Bakhsh, his brother Hafiz Abdul Kareem, their sisters - Abida Bibi and Khalida Bibi, Zulfiqar, son of Ali Muhammad, Maqbool, son of Yaqoob and Muhammad Rafique, son of Muhammad Iqbal.
According to the police, six of the deceased are from Sukhayra group and one Rafique belonged to Rajput Group.
The police said that except one, the six deceased are from the same family. “Four of the deceased are siblings, one is their maternal uncle and the other is their cousin who had come from Burewala,” they explained.
On the other hand, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has taken notice of the gruesome incident and has sought a report from the Punjab IG Police in 24 hours.
The Khanewal DPO, however, claimed that the district police have arrested three suspects so far and raids are being conducted to nab all the accused.
He “promised a fair” investigation into the incident to provide justice to the bereaved families.