MANSEHRA: A women-only jirga was formed in Garhi Habibullah town in Balakot tehsil on Thursday to decide cases of violence against female members of the local population.

`From now onwards, we`ll hold jirga to decide the excesses committed by men against women in our town. Four cases of violence against women were reported here recently but perpetrators have yet to be taken to the task. In this light, we`ve decided that we`ll decide about such cases by holding own jirgas,` said member of the 16-member jirga Ruqia Zafar after the oath-taking ceremony in Garhi Habibullah.

Balakot assistant commissioner Rooman Burana administered the oath to jirga members during a special ceremony.

The Sungi Development Foundation organised the event, where both men and women were in attendance.

Ms Ruqia said hers was a male-dominated society, where men-only jirgas handed over women of one family to other to end enmities and settle disputes.

`The circumstances have forced us into stepping out to claim own rights. The jirgas held by men are mostly biased as not only women but minor girls, too, are used to settle feuds among families,` she said.

The jirga member said most cases of violence against women and denial of inheritance to them were not reported tothe police in Garhi Habibullah.

`I ask you (women) to come forward to claim due rights and stand firm against the excesses committed by men at large.

Islam gives us (women) enough rights and nobody can deprive us of them,` she said.

District councillor Shakeela Rabbani, who was also in attendance, said it was a historic day in the history of the area as women had decided to bravely fightagainst injustices meted out to them.

`The formation of this women-only jirga is not only the solution to women`s societal problems. If women are sincere about checking domestic and other kinds of violence, they shouldn`t work against each other,` she said.

Assistant commissioner Rooman Burana said women should go all-out to claim rights in the male-dominated soci-ety.

`We`re doing our duty under the law and will do our best to ensure dispensation of justice to any victim of violence.

However, it will happen only when women come forward and report cases of violence for action against perpetrators, he said.

Garhi Habibullah SHO Mohammad Yasir said seven women abduction cases were reported in the area but the culprits escaped punishment due to reconciliation between the two parties.

`As the rate of getting married of own free will is gradually increasing, I`ll advise women to follow social and family norms to bring that rate down, which I think is in their interest,` he said.

WAPDA CHIEF MEETS LANDOWNERS: Wapda chairman retired general Muzamal Hussain on Thursday visited the site of 4,200 megawatt Dasu hydropower project and met the affected families.

`I am here to extend my heartfelt thanks to all Kohistanis and 80-member landowner committee over the settlement of their issues on dam. Work on this mega project will begin soon,` he said.

Deputy commissioner Mushtaq Ahmad, MPA Abdul Sattar Khan and Dadu dam general manager Javed Akhtar were also present on the occasion.

The Wapda chairman praised landownersfor offering their ancestrallandfor a great national cause and said once the dam was built, Kohistan would become a developed and prosperous district.