PESHAWAR:
In a historic move to end decades of blood feuds, Peshawar is set to establish its first Enmity Resolution Desk, a platform designed to address inherited rivalries and curb pervasive gun culture.
Certain neighborhoods of Peshawar, including Badhaber, Urmar, Matani, Tehkal, Shahpur and Chamkani, have witnessed violent rivalries for decades that have claimed the lives of hundreds of people. In some areas, entire generations have paid the price for revenge with human lives, leaving deep scars that persist to this day.
The newly created panel will bring together experts from the Department of Criminology, the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, retired police officers, respected religious scholars and women social leaders. Their collective goal is to resolve disputes not only through legal channels but also from social, religious and humanitarian perspectives.
Arsala Khan from Badhaber, whose family has lost 17 members to ongoing disputes, told The Express PAkGazette: “When we should have been holding pens, we were forced to pick up guns. For the last seven years, we have had to leave the city. A few minutes of anger destroyed our family, forcing us into fear and exile, living every year with the threat of another murder. We hope this initiative will put an end to the culture of enmity so that common people can live safely and peacefully.”
SP Cantt Peshawar Abdullah Ehsan said the Enmity Resolution Board, the first of its kind in the city, will provide a clear and effective framework to address long-standing disputes. “We are including credible, capable and respected people who will prioritize reconciliation over hatred taking into account legal, technical, religious and local customs,” he explained.
According to Dr Mian Saeed of Peshawar CCPO, the desk will go beyond paperwork. It will serve as a practical platform to heal wounded families, promote dialogue, and replace weapons with conversation. “If influential segments of the society unite behind this effort, the day is not far when Peshawar will see peace instead of enmities, and trust will replace fear,” he said.
City residents are cautiously optimistic that children growing up in the shadow of rivalry can inherit peace instead of hatred, and that the streets of Peshawar will witness examples of reconciliation rather than funeral processions.
