Sisters under pressure from Rajanpur panchayat to wed cousins in 'watta-satta'

RAJANPUR: A panchayat has ordered a family to accept the marriage proposal for their two daughters in a 'watta-satta' arrangement, or withdraw claims from a 123-hectare agricultural land.

Watta-satta involves a marriage arrangement in which two siblings, mostly a brother and a sister, are married into the same family as an exchange. 

Jagan Mazari was ordered to wed his two daughters, who are doctors, into the family of his brother, Huzoor Baksh.

Mazari’s son, Tariq, who is married to Baksh’s daughter, said their sisters are educated and they do not want to wed them to their cousins, who are uneducated.

Panchayat is pressuring us to agree to the marriage after we refused, he said, adding that they have complained to police but no action is being taken against the influential people. The panchayat head is pressuring us to withdraw claims from our land in case of refusal, Tariq added.

DSP Rojhan Tehsil Asif Rasheed told Geo News that it is a case of dispute between the two brothers over land which they received in inheritance, and also confirmed the statements given by Tariq.