SC takes suo motu notice of Kohistan incident
05 June, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Taking suo motu notice of media reports of a Kohistan jirga that 'condemned' to death four girls for defying strict tribal customs, the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday summoned on June 6 the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary, the Kohistan district police officer and Hazara deputy inspector general.
Media reports of the alleged killing of four girls and a fifth one for being an 'accomplice' were presented before Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry by the SC registrar.
The jirga had declared four women and two men 'ghul' (fornicators) after they were allegedly caught on videotape singing and dancing together at a wedding party in Bando Baidar village of Peech Bela Union Council.
The video caused uproar in the community, which felt the video had stained the honour of their women. According to sources, elders of the Azad Khel tribe had summoned a jirga at Seertaiy village, which sentenced the four women and the two men to death.
The CJP ordered Attorney General Irfan Qadir to find out if the news reports about the incident were factual or not. He said further if the reports were bogus and such an incident never occurred, then the girls should be presented before the court the same day.
However, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain declared the reports "wrong and baseless".
The chief justice of Pakistan also asked the attorney general that if as per traditional custom the women did not prefer to come to the open court then a meeting be convened with them in the office of the attorney general and the court be briefed about the matter in chamber.
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