Six killed in firing at tribal jirga in Northwest Pakistan, suspect shot dead

At least six people were killed and two others injured after a gunman opened fire during a tribal jirga meeting in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred in the Dera Ismail Khan district, where members of the Istrana tribe had gathered to resolve a local dispute involving a stolen motorcycle. The meeting was convened with a wanted suspect, Zulfiqar Marwat, who had been called to participate in the settlement process.

According to police officials , the suspect opened fire on the assembled elders during the proceedings, killing six individuals on the spot and leaving two others seriously injured. The attacker fled the scene immediately after the shooting on a motorcycle.

Security forces launched a search operation soon after the incident, acting on intelligence inputs regarding the suspect’s whereabouts. During a subsequent raid, the accused and his accomplices allegedly opened fire on the police team, triggering a gunfight.

Police said Marwat was killed in retaliatory firing during the exchange. Authorities recovered weapons and a motorcycle from the site of the encounter. Efforts are ongoing to trace and apprehend any accomplices involved in the incident.

A jirga is a traditional assembly of tribal elders commonly used in parts of northwest Pakistan to mediate and resolve disputes outside the formal judicial system.

The incident highlights persistent security concerns in the region, where informal dispute resolution mechanisms sometimes intersect with criminal activity.