The gun battle between two rival groups of Domki community of Kandhkot took the lives of five people and injired several in Bakhshapur area of Sukkar district. According to media reports,  two rival groups belonging to the Domki community of Kandhkot gathered at a mutually agreed place in Bakhshapur to settle their dispute over a piece of land. While they were engaged in negotiations over the matter, a heated debate among some of them provoked shooting, reports from the area suggested. The negotiators and a large number of other community members ran to safety and took shelter behind the many vehicles parked at the site.

According to police and area residents, two persons died on the spot who later identified as Eiden Domki and Barkat Domki. Eight others sustained multiple bullet wounds during the clash. The area police were alerted but they could not enter the battle field due to the exchange of heavy fire by the two sides near the Blind railway crossing along the Indus Highway in the jurisdiction of Bakhshapur police station. When the guns fell silent, the police entered into the area and moved the wounded people to the Bakhshapur Hospital.

Three of them, Pir Bakhsh Domki, Noor Ahmed Domki and Dhani Bakhsh Domki were referred to a major hospital in Rahim Yar Khan due to their critical condition. A late evening report said that all the three wounded persons had died before reaching the hospital. The police said that five wounded victims, Mukhtiar Domki, Tariq Domki, Zakir Domki, Alimuddin Domki and another man were shifted to Kashmore Civil Hospital. The Bakhshapur police said that the two sides had a dispute over possession of the piece of land for long and they had gathered at the site on Sunday to settle the matter.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP