Jirga refuses to attend rival parties settlement ceremony.

Lakki marwat -- Marwat Qaumi Jirga on Monday refused to attend a ceremony to be held for settlement of enmity between the families of Dr Asma Rani (late), a medical student, and Mujahid Afridi, the man jailed in the murder. The jirga held a meeting, chaired by Alhaj Aslam Khan Issakhel and former federal secretary Akhtar Munir Khan. Mojahid Afridi was jailed and sentenced to capital punishment in the murder case of Asma Rani a few years ago. The settlement event between the two families is scheduled for the coming Sunday in Kohat.

Speaking at the jirga, Faridullah Khan Minakhel, Akhtar Munir Khan Marwat, Alhaj Aslam Khan Issakkhel, Humayun Begukhel, and Waheed Aslam advocate said that the father of Asma Rani had not taken them into confidence about the settlement.

They said that it was strange that the father just used social media to invite the elders of Marwat tribe for the ceremony. 'We...