HARIPUR - In a shootout between two groups of Afghan armed men in the outskirt of Haripur seven people were killed and six others injured. The clash started at Kha­la Butt Township area in the vi­cinity of Haripur after a dispute between two groups of Afghan people over standing in a queue outside a post office, according to preliminary investigation of the incident by the police.

The incident began with ex­change of harsh words and scuf­fle, which turned into an armed clash. Two groups of armed men opened straight fire at each other resulting in death of six people on the spot, according to details.

Six others were injured in the exchange of fire. Five brothers were among dead. According to police sources, three suspects were arrested after the shoot­ing and weapons were recovered from them while the others man­aged to escape.

The deceased and injured were transferred to a local hospital. Lo­cal police have registered FIR and initiated search for the culprits of the incident, police sources said. Following the incident, the district police officer (DPO), along with a heavy contingent of police, arrived at the scene and began searching for the suspects in the area. The injured and the bodies of the de­ceased were shifted to hospital, police added.

Meanwhile in Nowshera, four people were killed and three injured as close family members exchanged fire over a property and marriage dispute on Wednesday.

The deadly incident took place in the Akbarpura area. The two parties already had a property dispute. But on Wednesday, the maternal uncle and his nephews resorted to indiscriminate fire after the latest controversy over marriage.\ Police said the four victims had died on the spot, adding that the bodies as well as the injured were rushed to Mian Rashid Memorial Hospital, Pab­bi, and the Lady Reading Hospi­tal in Peshawar. 

Two of those killed in the in­cident were brothers, as the police were conducting raids to arrest the accused while the panic gripped the area after the gruesome incident. These latest murders yet again highlighted the tragic fact that killings are common in the country over family disputes related to land and marriage as close relations prefer enmities over a peaceful life and coexistence.

In a similar incident, a young girl was killed and her father shifted to a hospital in a criti­cal condition, as the rivals am­bushed them over an old enmity in the Ravi Town of Bahawalpur.

According to locals, the three attackers ambushed Ghulam Yas­een and Areeba, 13, who return­ing after attending a marriage. The killers first stopped the chil­dren coming on foot and then tar­geted the father and her daughter who were riding a bike.