SHANGLA: An effort by elders to sort out a dispute between lawyers and police here on Monday failed to bear fruit as both sides refused to budge.

After a scuffle between a traffic sergeant and lawyers in the district headquarters Alpuri, the police had lodged an FIR against three lawyers. Lawyers later blocked the Bisham-Swat Road in Alpuri to protest against the police.

Alpuri tehsil council chairman Waqar Ahmad Khan and elders Alibash Khan, Zulfiqar Khan, Mohammad Javed Khan, Intikhab Alam, Gul Mohammad and Mohammad Alam met representatives of both sides and heard their viewpoints on the row. The jirga members visited the district bar room and met lawyers before going to the DPO`s office to learn about his version on the matter.

They tried to ease tensions between the two sides but the latter refused to withdraw from their positions, leavingthe effort unsuccessful.

Council chairman Waqar Ahmad Khan said they would make more efforts to settle the dispute as it was the only way to sort out the issue otherwise its repercussions could be dangerous in future as police and lawyers were interconnected.

DROWNED: Two cousins drowned in the Indus River in Maira area of Bisham tehsil here on Monday morning.

According to Rescue 1122 officials, Mohammad Asif, 9, and Sohaib Ahmad, 11, both from Saidabad area, had gone to the nearby Indus River to bathe but drowned due to rip currents.

The rescue workers went to the area after receiving an emergency call and began a search for the two boys.

He said efforts to recover the boys continued under the supervision of their parents and relatives. Correspondent