ISLAMABAD: A grand jirga resolved of an old land dispute between two tribes in Pakistan’s northern region on Tuesday, revitalizing official hopes for timely completion of a major hydropower project and making Prime Minister Imran Khan describe it as a “historic development and good news.”
The country plans to build Diamer-Bhasha dam on the River Indus between Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Diamer district in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) by 2028-29. However, the prolonged dispute between the Thor and Harban tribes, which claimed four lives nearly six years ago, was a major impediment in the implementation of the project which was launched in 1998.
The resolution of the dispute between the two sides was announced in a ceremony organized at the site of the dam after numerous sittings of a 26-member jirga that was constituted in December 2020 to address the issue.
“Historic [development] & good news on Diamer Bhasha Dam,” the prime minister announced in a Twitter post. “Grand Jirga of Diamer & Upper Kohistan elders have settled decade old Thor & Harban tribes' dispute. This will allow smooth & timely completion of Dam as well as pave way for settlement of boundary dispute between GB & KP.”

After the announcement of the decision by the local jirga, Pakistani officials distributed cheques worth Rs400 million among people who were affected by the 2014 clash between the two sides that led to the loss of life and damage to properties.
The Diamer-Bhasha project will have a gross water storage capacity of 8.1-million-acre feet (MAF) that is expected to help irrigate 1.23 million acres of additional land. With an installed power generation capacity of 4,500 megawatts, the project will provide more than 18 billion units per annum to the national grid.
Asked about the significance of the development, Muhammad Qasim, a Diamer-based journalist, said the territorial dispute between the two sides was both bitter and longstanding.
“Many previous attempts at resolving the issue had failed in the past,” he noted. “The local jirga, which was formed a little more than a year ago, was fully facilitated by civil administrations in the two districts along with the Water and Power Development Authority which is also responsible for constructing the dam.”
Qasim added that Pakistani officials encouraged the two tribes to resolve the protracted dispute.
Speaking to Arab News, Maulana Sarwar Shah, a jirga member who read the final decision of the 26-member committee at the ceremony, said the issue even predated Pakistan’s creation.
“However, the dispute started generating greater friction after the government announced to build the dam in the area,” he added. “Now, the two tribes are happy with the settlement and will not offer any resistance to the government over the construction of the dam.”