Let us build Pakistan (LUBP): Taliban style justice: Young girl lashed publicly in Swat !

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Friday 3 April 2009

Taliban style justice: Young girl lashed publicly in Swat !

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15 comments:

Shan said...: 100 girls’ schools razed in FATA: UN

LAHORE: Taliban last year blew up more than 100 girls’ schools in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, the United Nations (UN) has said. Koichiro Matsuura, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation director-general, said months of attacks on educational institutions, teachers and students had created a ‘shocking situation’. The lawlessness had spread to the Swat valley in February. What was once the “Switzerland of Pakistan” had become its Beirut, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Hussain Haqqani said. The Taliban have attacked 169 girls’ schools in the Swat district since July, and last week, a suicide attacker bombed another in Balochistan. While the peace accord in Swat ‘theoretically’ allowed girls to return to schools, Matsuura said “fear still reigns” among parents and many teachers had fled the region. daily times monitor

http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\04\03\story_3-4-2009_pg7_4; 3 April 2009 at 07:23
ajeeb bandah said...: Mashallah, Zia-ul-Haq kay Islam ki yad tazah ho gaye.; 3 April 2009 at 08:24
Mwaqar said...: THIS REALLY INHUMAN ACT AND CRIME,IGNORANT TALIBAN HAVE NO RIGHT TO TREAT ANYONE LIKE THIS,ITS 2009 NOT 7TH CENTURY,I REJECT THIS KIND OF ISLAM AND TREATMENT OF PEOPLE.TALIBAN ARE IGNORANT AND LIVING IN STONE AGE,THIS VIDEO REALLY MADE ME UPSET AND SICK.TALIBAN ARE INVOLVE IN CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.; 3 April 2009 at 13:18
Raazi said...: Ansar Abbasi bast**d justifying it on TV quoting Quran etc. Ansar Abbasi is the head of Taliban mafia in Pakistani media.; 3 April 2009 at 20:33
Mwaqar said...: The most astonishing thing was that there was a throng of the most chivalrous and proud Pathans, Pukhtoons or the Pushtoons – whatever you may call them - around the helpless victim of atrocity watching the spectacle mutely either in approval or dumbfounded and afraid of uttering a word against it lest it be termed as anti-Islamic and they themselves meted out the same treatment. Well Done the Ghayur Pukhtoons of Swat. Well Done to your chivalry and manliness.
What a message we are sending to civilized World. keep a close eye on how the politicians react - zardari "condemns" (words are cheap, particularly zardaris); PM "demands" punishment (OK, lets wait and see); CJ uses suo moto to demand girl be produced before court.. (OK, lets wait and see). Jamaat-i-Islami says this is a "minor matter" and people should focus on drone attacks by the US (thus demonstrating their hypocrisy and savagery!!).Those who think it was ok cause its in Islam then those idiots should go to mountains and live there and have fun with stone age.; 3 April 2009 at 21:29
Aamir Mughal said...: Video of Taliban Flogging Rattles Pakistan By SALMAN MASOOD Published: April 3, 2009

http://www.nytimes. com/2009/ 04/04/world/ asia/04swat. html?ref= world

An undated image taken from mobile phone footage released by Dunya TV Channel shows a woman in a body-covering burka face down on the ground being flogged. Dunya TV Channel/Associated Press

http://blogs. channel4. com/snowblog/ 2009/04/03/ pakistan- tracing-the- flogging- footage/

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The video shows a young girl held face down as a Taliban commander whips her repeatedly with a leather strap. “Leave me for the moment — you can beat me again later,” she screams, pleading for a reprieve and writhing in pain.

Paying no heed, the commander orders the others to tighten their grip on her and continues the public flogging. A large group of men quietly stands and watches in a circle around her.

The girl in the video is a 17-year-old resident of Kabal in the restive Swat region in northwestern Pakistan. The images, which have been aired repeatedly by private television news networks in Pakistan, have caused outrage here and set off bitter condemnation by rights activists and politicians. It has also raised questions once again about the government’s decision to enter into a peace deal in February that effectively ceded Swat to the Taliban and allowed them to impose Islamic law.

The two-minute video is the first known case of a public flogging of a woman in Swat. Apparently shot on mobile phone and widely circulated in the picturesque valley, it demonstrates vividly how the Taliban have used public displays of punishment to terrify and control the local population.

It was not clear what the girl was accused of. One account said that she had stepped out of her house without being escorted by a male family member, said Samar Minallah, a rights activist. Ms. Minallah said she distributed the video to local news media after it was sent to her by someone from Swat three days ago

Another account said that a local Taliban commander had falsely accused the girl of violating Islamic law after she refused to accept his marriage proposal.

A Taliban spokesperson defended the punishment to the GEO television network , but said it should not have been done in public.

Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister of North-West Frontier Province, where Swat is located, also tried to play down the flogging by claiming that the video was recorded in January before the peace agreement. He called it an attempt to sabotage the peace agreement.

Not many seemed willing to countenance the argument.

“This is absurd,” said Athar Minallah, a lawyer who campaigned for the restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in a telephone interview. “No one can give justification for such an act. These handful of people have taken the population hostage and the government is trying to patronize them. If the state surrenders, what will happen next?”

Asma Jehangir, one of the country’s leading rights activists, condemned the flogging as “intolerable.”

“This is an eye-opener,” she said in a televised news briefing in Lahore. “Terrorism has seeped into every corner of the country. It is time that every patriotic Pakistani should raise a voice against such atrocities.”

She said she would join other rights activists and citizens in rally against terrorism Saturday in Lahore, where militants stormed a police academy this week. “It will be a peaceful march to show that the people of Lahore will not stay silent,” she said.

Jugnu Mohsin, a peace activist and publisher of Friday Times, the country’s most popular weekly, blamed the military for allowing the Taliban to gain strength and giving the militants a free hand to commit such atrocities.

Ms. Mohsin, along with her husband, Najam Sethi, one of Pakistan’s most renowned journalists, said she had received threats from Islamic extremists.

“I know that the federal and provincial governments are innocent victims and bystanders,” she said. ”The military has handed over the ownership and refuses to fight.”

In February, after 20 months of losing battles against the Taliban in Swat, the government and the military accepted a peace deal and the establishment of Islamic courts in the region. In return, Maulana Fazlullah, the leader of the Taliban in Swat, pledged to lay down the weapons and end the violence.

Those who opposed the deal said it would strengthen the militants and give them time to regroup and tighten their control in Swat.

The government said the agreement would end the violence. Hundreds of schools have been destroyed in Swat, several government officials beheaded and female education banned under the Taliban.

Both President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani condemned the flogging and ordered and investigation.

Mr. Chaudhry has also constituted an eight-member bench in the Supreme Court after taking notice of the video, a news release by the Pakistani court said.

The justice ordered the interior secretary to bring the girl before the court on March 6.

Sherry Rehman, the former information minister and a member of the ruling Pakistan Peoples’ Party, demanded immediate action by the government.

“Ignoring such acts of violence amounts to sanctioning impunity,” Ms. Rehman said in a statement. “The fire in the Swat Valley and our northern regions can engulf other parts of the country, if we do nothing to put it out.”; 3 April 2009 at 21:50
Aamir Mughal said...: Like Ansar Abbasi and Munawar Hasan of Jamat-e-Islami supports Swat Flogging:

"The leader of Pakistan's main Islamist party, the Jamaat-e-Islami, played down the incident [of the Taliban in Swat flogging a young girl].

'It's a small thing. We should talk about drone attacks, not minor things,' said Munawar Hassan, referring to attacks on suspected militants by pilotless US aircraft that have angered many Pakistanis."

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/Video-showing-Swat-girl-flogging-circulated--qs; 3 April 2009 at 21:59
Aamir Mughal said...: Dear Moderators,

Likes of Ansar Abbasi and New Fascist Ameer of Jamat-e-Islami were silent on this:

Why dont the new Ameer of Jamat-e-Islami Munawwar Hasan [defended the flogging in Swat on Dawn News] and other Mullahs flog men on this:

Karo Kari is a tradition which is mostly practiced in my hometown and my birthblace i.e. Jacobabad i.e. Sindh, read more:

WOMEN IN MUSLIM SOCIETIES PAY HIGH PRICE TO FUNDAMENTALISM By Rana Rizvi Special to IPS [Iran Press Service]

In Pakistani society women are suffering at the hands of centuries-old customs like karo kari*, marriage with the Qur’an** (Koran) and many others. As per a report of HRCP, in 1998, 286 women have reported to be killed in the name of honour. The overall situation is very bleak but a little number of women are emerging from the web and trying to break the norms and traditions and change the system that is not easy but very optimistic. ENDS PAKI WOMEN 19800

* Karo Kari ( According to a custom of karo kari, if a woman having an illicit liaison with any man, she is declared kari (black) and the man who involved in relationship is called Karo. It becomes a must for any relative of a “kari” woman to kill both her and her partner, as the murderer would escape from punishment because he has killed in the name of honour.

**Marriage with Quran (According to a tribal custom of Sindh and Baluchistan) , in some families especially Syed {an upper caste of Muslims) families, members of the faamilies search the proposals for their daughters, sisters in their own families and in case if they could not find any suitable match then they cover the head of the girl and teach her the Holy Quran in a ceremony. The whole life girl remains with the Quran and its called marriage with Quran. The practice is continue and the purpose is do not give the share to female members of the family.

Pakistan: The Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, 2006 and its implementation

UNHCR:

Various sources indicate that the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, 2006 has generated conflict in Pakistani society as some people perceive it as anti-Islamic or against the Quran (BBC 15 Nov. 2006; Nawa-e Waqt 15 May 2007; US 5 Dec. 2006; The Daily Times 3 Aug. 2007). The Daily Times further reports that a city-wide strike protesting the Act occurred in Karachi in December 2006 where most of the public transportation stopped operations, major commercial markets were closed and private schools started their winter holidays early in anticipation of the strike (23 Dec. 2006). Around 5,000 activists from the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a conservative Islamist political alliance (BBC 15 Nov. 2006), participated in the rally against the Act and there were reports of violence, though no details were provided (The Daily Times 23 Dec. 2006). Clashes also occurred in Lahore and Gujranwala (AsiaNews.it 1 Dec. 2006).

The Ministry of Women Development of Pakistan indicates on its website that a bill to address customary practices such as forced marriages, Vani-Swara (i.e., giving a woman in marriage to hostile families in compensation for a relative’s crime), and “marriage to the Quran” [a practice whereby girls dedicate themselves to studying the Quran and forego marriage (Asharq Alawsat 22 July 2007)] is under review and that another bill to address domestic violence is being forwarded to the Cabinet for approval (Pakistan 5 Oct. 2007; see also The Daily Times 11 Jan. 2007).

Information regarding the implementation of the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, 2006 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Amnesty International (AI). 2007. “Pakistan.” Amnesty International Report 2007. [Accessed 26 Nov. 2007]

_____. N.d. Asia Pacific Regional Office. “Hudood Ordinances – The Crime and Punishment for Zina.” [Accessed 29 Nov. 2007]

Asharq Alawsat [London]. 22 July 2007. Mohammed Al Shafey. “Married to the Quran.” [Accessed 29 Nov. 2007]

AsiaNews.it. 1 December 2006. “Muslim Leaders Give Thumbs Up to Law Protecting Women.” [Accessed 26 Nov. 2007]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 15 November 2006. Syed Shoaib Hasan. “Strong Feelings over Pakistan Rape Laws.” [Accessed 27 Nov. 2007]

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). 1 March 2007. Carin Zissis. “Pakistan’s Uneven Push for Women.” [Accessed 26 Nov. 2007]

The Daily Times [Lahore]. 3 August 2007. “Introduction of Women’s Protection Act: Pakistani Rulers Have Invited Divine Wrath: JD.” [Accessed 27 Nov. 2007]

_____. 11 January 2007. “WAF Hails Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Bill.” [Accessed 27 Nov. 2007]

_____. 23 December 2006. “Anti-WPA Strike in Karachi Partially Successful.” [Accessed 27 Nov. 2007]

Dawn [Karachi]. 2 December 2006. “Musharraf Signs Women’s Bill.” [Accessed 26 Nov. 2007]

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). 2007. “Rights of the Disadvantaged.” State of Human Rights in 2006. [Accessed 20 Nov. 2007]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 11 January 2007. “Pakistan.” World Report 2007. [Accessed 19 Nov. 2007]

Jahangir, Asma. 22 October 2007. Presentation on the topic of religion and human rights at the University of Ottawa.

Nawa-e Waqt [Rawalpindi, in Urdu]. 15 May 2007. “Pakistan: Ulema Attacks Govt over Women’s Protection Bill, Says Against Koran – Unattributed Report: The Entire Nation Has Rejected ‘the Women’s Protection Act’.” (World News Connection)

The News. 11 February 2007. Fatima Bhutto. “The Location of Honour: A Hundred Beats.” [Accessed 26 Nov. 2007]

Pakistan. 5 October 2007. Ministry of Women Development. “Introducing Women Protection Bill 2006 (Criminal Law).” [Accessed 20 Nov. 2007]

_____. 1 December 2006. The Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, 2006. [Accessed 20 Nov. 2007]

United States (US). 2 May 2007. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. [Accessed 20 Nov. 2007]

_____. 6 March 2007. Department of State. “Pakistan.” Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2006. [Accessed 29 Nov. 2007]

_____. 5 December 2006. Department of Commerce. National Technical Information Service (NTIS). “Urdu Press Roundup on Meeting of Scholars, PML Chief on Women’s Protection Bill.” (World News Connection); 4 April 2009 at 00:04
Aamir Mughal said...: Where was Jamat-e-Islami, Munawar Hasan, Professor Ghafoor, Mian Tufail and Qazi Hussain Ahmed when under their very nose this 'SAD INCIDENT' took place during the so-called Islamic General Ziaul Haq??? When Naked Procession of Women was forcibly taken out just for the sake of revenge.

The tormenting memory of Nawabpur By Omar R. Quraishi

12 October 2004 Tuesday 26 Shaban 1425

http://www.dawn.com/2004/10/12/op.htm#4

On October 8, several hundred activists and concerned citizens, including parliamentarians, gathered in front of Parliament House in Islamabad, to protest against the government's inaction with regard to the so-called honour killings and increasing violence against women in the country. This rally follows several previous ones on similar issues and staged in the hope that our elected representatives realize the gravity of the situation and take action to outlaw honour killings.

In the name of honour, to defend a family, clan or tribe's honour, many injustices and cruelties have been perpetrated against thousands of women in Pakistan's history. Just two years ago, we saw a panchayat in the small village of Meerwala in southern Punjab order an innocent woman to be raped by several men as punishment for an alleged affair that one of her brother committed with a woman from another tribe.

Once the story got out, it made international headlines. All hell broke loose, at least initially, with the Supreme Court calling it the "most heinous crime of 21st century Pakistan" and ordering an anti-terrorism court to hear the case. Six men were eventually sentenced to death while eight were acquitted. However, their defence lawyers moved the high court and their appeal is currently pending.

For its part, the government gave the woman, Mukhtaran Mai Rs 500,000 and it is believed that aid offers came in from overseas and from private sources as well. She decided that with the money she would build a school in her village. According to a report a few months ago, her school is yet to be completed. The Supreme Court was right in calling it the most heinous crime seen by Pakistanis in this century. This century yes, but what was the most heinous crime the country witnessed during the previous century, specifically when General Ziaul Haq was in power, a time when the country was exposed to a veritable ocean of arms and drugs and when infamous laws like the Hudood and the Qisas and Diyat ordinances were enacted, perhaps a crime against Pakistan itself. But if one were to single out an incident and call it the equivalent of the Meerwala tragedy, it would have to be the horrific events that took place in Nawabpur, not far from Meerwala, 20 years ago.

Two women and a nine-year-old girl, were paraded naked on March 31, 1984, through the small galis of Nawabpur, a small, sleepy town some 10 kilometres from Multan. The women's brother-in-law, Akbar, was a local carpenter, who had earned a name for himself by becoming skilled at his craft. The man, according to one account which appeared three weeks after the incident in this newspaper's weekly magazine, was that he had been having affairs with women from the town's leading feudal Sheikhana clan.

As such things are "settled" in a feudal/tribal context, several dozen men of the clan made their way to Akbar's house, severely beat him up and then did the same to his two sisters-in-law and nine-year-old sister. Apparently, not content with their bestiality, they then proceeded to drag the two women and girl to the streets, naked. According to the report, "Talking to two dead women" (April 20, 1984) by Zafar Samdani: "A group of about 40-50 revenge-drunk men had entered their (the women's house), beat up their brother-in-law Mohammad Akbar to a pulp, stripped them naked by tearing their clothes ... and then herded them towards the main street, waving their arms, pistols, iron-mounted lathis and other weapons victoriously...

When the women tried to hide their bodies with their hands, they (the men) prodded them with sticks or just hit them. When they tried to hide their faces, they pulled their hair so that they raised their faces." Beaten beyond recognition, Akbar died six days later from his injuries. Talking to the writer of the article, the chief of the Sheikhana clan at that time and chairman of the union council of Nawabpur, Malik Mohammad Baksh, said that the action of the men (he called them "boys") from his clan was understandable given Akbar's shenanigans because of which they were "terribly angry".

He also said that though they were "terribly angry," reports of their "misdeed had been grossly exaggerated". One can only be astonished by the audacity of this man who probably saw it fit to deny or justify the parading of women naked at gunpoint, because one of their relatives allegedly had an affair or affairs with female relatives of the men who came to take revenge. A military court heard the case and after the incident an amendment (through the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance 1984 - Section 354 A) was inserted in the Pakistan Penal Code. It increased the maximum sentence from two years in jail to capital punishment for anyone who forced a woman to strip naked in public. Despite that, the men tried in the Nawabpur case were not given capital punishment or even life sentence.

In fact, two months later they were all released on bail. Akbar's shattered and broken family left the village fearing that the released men might return and persecute them. Quite ironically, a fortnight after the Nawabpur incident, a military court in a separate case sentenced a man and a woman to 20 lashes each after finding them guilty of committing adultery.

It is 20 years on and one wonders whether anything has really changed as far as the misogynist trends in Pakistani society are concerned. Meerwala, which happened just two years ago, would perhaps tell us that not much has changed.

In fact, the same year, one witnessed several cases of young teenage girls being "gifted" to men to settle tribal disputes. Earlier this year, a young girl in interior Sindh was shot dead by male relatives after she dared to dance during a family wedding ceremony. Perhaps one difference is that when the Nawabpur incident took place the kind of press and television coverage that Meerwala received did not exist. Other than that, the military man in charge today at least professes to holding views that are more enlightened than those of General Zia. And yes, the National Assembly and the Senate have several dozen female legislators now.

But they haven't really made much of an impact, or to put it more precisely, the male-dominated politics of Pakistan hasn't allowed them to do anything of significance. One or two members of parliament who do speak quite vociferously on women's issues, such as Kashmala Tariq of the PML or Sherry Rehman of the PPP (Parliamentarians) are either shouted down (as the National Assembly speaker did recently with Ms Tariq), subjected to a thoroughly unwarranted attack on their personal character or are thought to be too westernized and elitist to be of any consequence (as is the case with Ms Rehman).

In fact, a privilege motion was moved recently against Kashmala Tariq by a member of her own party, the PML, after she said, in response to a reporter's question that she wasn't made a minister because she did not have the right surname or connections. On one occasion she also received comments on her looks from some male members of the National Assembly during parliamentary proceedings, giving the impression that perhaps some of our MNAs had never seen a female face before. Pretty much the same thing happens at the provincial level. In the case of Punjab, some of the PML women MPAs have said that they often find themselves sidelined during the proceedings or aren't given enough time or opportunity to speak in a debate. As for the role of women in the Balochistan or NWFP assemblies, the less said the better, especially in the latter where they prefer to be silent much of the time and let their erstwhile male colleagues in the MMA take control of parliamentary proceedings.

If they try and protest against this bias, they are deemed by the men as being too troublesome or noisy. So, while we have lots of women legislators, the male-dominated system doesn't let them do anything at all. In fact, its inherent anti-women attitude is geared towards denying them an effective voice/role in parliament just as it happens throughout the rest of society. Besides, the role of our so-called intellectuals, who should be more vocal in their demands for social reform, especially in areas such as these that involve the equality of the sexes and human dignity, has yet to materialize.

This is probably why, even 20 years after Nawabpur and two years after Meerwala, various governments continue to procrastinate over legislation against crimes committed in the name of honour. The fact that the print and electronic media report such things with greater alacrity and regularity than before is a positive sign and is aimed at raising public awareness.

But then, who doesn't know that ordering a woman to be raped for a crime committed by her brother, or parading women naked in public is reprehensible and can be done only by beasts masquerading as humans? Clearly, increased media reporting of such happenings and greater awareness levels have not persuaded any government - not even one led by a self-professed enlightened moderate - to enact legislation to tilt the balance back, however slightly, in favour of women. In the past year alone, senior government functionaries, up to the ministerial level, have said at least a dozen times that a law will be "enacted soon". The other day it was reported that the National Assembly's standing committee on law and human rights had finally approved a draft of a proposed law on this issue. If the bill is approved by both houses, and a law is enacted, perhaps a significant change will be witnessed since the abominable events of Nawabpur shook this country 20 years ago.; 4 April 2009 at 00:11
Raazi said...: Things to come
Saturday, April 04, 2009
A young woman, probably 17 years old, is held face down by - amongst others - one of her brothers while she is flogged. She is struck hard – these are not token 'smacks' - with a whip 34 times on her buttocks and upper thighs. She screams in pain throughout and begs to be killed. A voice is heard saying 'hold her legs tight'. At the end she stands and is led into a house. The event is watched, apparently in silence, by a group of men, this snapshot of what the future holds for us was somehow caught on camera and eventually made its way to the blogosphere. It has been broadcast on Geo TV as well. Many by now have seen it and sit astonished. It is alleged that the girl came out of her house in the company of a man who was not her husband, hence her punishment. There was no trial, she was unable to offer any defence and she was flogged on the sole evidence of a neighbour. The flogging took place in Swat.

The video exposes the barbarity that lies at the heart of the Taliban movement. This is the Taliban version of Sharia law in action, and it is coming to a chowk near you in the foreseeable future. How should we respond to this? There will be those who will watch the video and say 'Yes…that is the right thing to do. She deserves that punishment. Others should be punished in a similar way.' The people who are of this view are often vociferous, strident even, in their support of an interpretation of religious law that fits their medieval paradigm. We hear their voices every day. Then there are others who will watch it and say 'No, this is not the way things should be done. This is not the Islam that I believe in. Brutal behaviour such as this makes a vile mockery of my faith. I do not want this to happen in my country.' Unfortunately, we do not hear the voices that speak in terms of moderation and tolerance and diversity and acceptance of 'other'. We do not hear them because they are either drowned out by the louder voices of barbarism or because they are voices that speak low and soft, out of the range of normal hearing. We would like to think that the voices not being heard are the voices of the majority, the voices that belong to men and women who want to see a developed and prosperous Pakistan that is a model for the Muslim world.

You members of the softly-spoken majority have a choice to make. Either you continue to speak but have your words drowned out by those who would publicly whip your sisters, mothers, daughters and wives for whatever petty gossip is parlayed by jealous or malicious neighbours; or you raise your voices loud in protest. Say strong and clear that this is not for you. Organise and march and lobby and agitate and protest and in so doing stem the tide of extremism that rolls ever closer. You choose. Because if you don't choose, and the tide rolls around the corner of your street and it is your wife or daughter or sister or mother screaming in front of you as she is flogged – then you have nobody to blame but yourselves. (The News, Editorial); 4 April 2009 at 09:07
Daily Dawn said...: CJ wants victim in court
By Our Staff Reporter
Saturday, 04 Apr, 2009

ISLAMABAD, April 3: Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has described the recent flogging of a 17-year-old girl by Taliban in Swat as a serious violation of fundamental rights and ordered the interior secretary to bring the girl before his court on Monday.

Taking suo motu notice of the incident, the chief justice asked the chief secretary and police chief of the NWFP to appear in person.

Supreme Court Registrar Dr Faqir Hussain brought the incident to the notice of the chief justice on Friday after seeing an amateur video of the flogging aired by television channels.

“We do not know the exact venue of the incident and the circumstances in which the punishment by whipping was administered, but it certainly constitutes a serious violation of law and fundamental rights of the citizens of the country,” the chief justice said. He constituted an eight-judge bench headed by himself to hear the case on April 6.

Besides Chief Justice Iftikhar, the bench comprises Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Sardar Mohamamd Raza Khan, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed and Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed.

Notices were also issued to Attorney General Sardar Latif Khosa, the NWFP advocate general and the president of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association.

The private TV channels which had shown the footage were ordered to submit a copy of the recording. The Geo, Aaj and Express channels were asked to jointly compile the video of the incident and make arrangements to display it before the court.

In his note to the chief justice, the registrar stated that he had watched the video in which the victim who was crying and screaming continuously was being whipped on the charge that she had gone out of her home with a ‘na-mahram’. The exact place where the incident had taken place was not mentioned. However, it appeared to be somewhere in Mingora or a village in Swat. Probably the news had also been released by foreign media, the registrar said, adding that it was a very cruel act which violated the fundamental rights and gave a very bad name to the country. The treatment was also in violation of Islamic norms and principles, he said.

“The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees fundamental rights of its citizens,” he said, adding that no person could be deprived of life or liberty without due process of law.

“The dignity of person is inviolable. No person can be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Punishment of whipping is prohibited by law. The incident, therefore, constitutes a serious violation of the Constitution/law,” the note said.

According to Article 247 of the Constitution, it said, the executive authority of the federation extended to the tribal areas, including the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata). Daily Dawn; 4 April 2009 at 09:45
Raazi said...: Taliban establish their rule in Swat courtesy ISI:

Taliban stop NADRA office from working

LAHORE: The Taliban on Friday broke into the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office in Swat, and barred those present in the building from working, a private TV channel reported on Friday. According to the channel, the armed Taliban broke into the office in the morning and told the officials to stop routine operations. The group said it had stopped the officials from working because men and women were working in the same place. They demanded the NADRA authorities ensure that men and women work separately in the office. The incident came as TV footage showing the Taliban flogging a 17-year-old girl surfaced, sparking outrage in Pakistan and abroad. The incident took place early in January. daily times monitor

Fazlullah returns to Imam Dheri

* TTP Swat chief addresses gathering after Sufi Muhammad delivers Friday sermon

Staff Report

MINGORA: Chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) Pakistan in Swat, Mullah Fazlullah, returned to Imam Dheri Markaz – a madrassa that was previously used by him as his headquarters – on Friday after staying away from the place for two years.

Fazlullah addressed those who had gathered there for Friday prayers, after Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi chief Sufi Muhammad delivered the Friday sermon. Fazlullah said his group had taken up arms for the enforcement of sharia, but “we have now lay down our weapons with our goal achieved”. He said the Taliban had ‘utmost faith’ in Sufi Muhammad.

He told the gathering that NATO forces could not stay in Afghanistan if their supplies were cut off through the Torkham route.

Referring to recently established qazi courts in Swat, Fazlullah said the TTP wanted qazis to make decisions in light of the holy Quran and Sunnah.

He claimed that the people of Swat had ‘voiced their support’ for the implementation of sharia, but around 240 of them had also lost their lives in the process. The TTP chief said he was not sure if he would return to his former headquarters again. “Life and death are in the hands of Allah,” he said, adding that the movement for the implementation of shariat would continue even if he died.

Separately, the Malakand commissioner said all ‘unnecessary’ checkposts had been removed from the district.; 4 April 2009 at 09:51
Kumar said...: Abdul, you still hope that Pakistan can resist Taliban. Forget it. You guys are increasingly in a minority. It is Taliban's "Let us dismantle Pakistan" mission. Under this brand of Islam no person is safe in Pakistan. They are in a self-destructing mode. At this rate Pakistan will cease to exist.

Regards; 5 April 2009 at 14:19
Anonymous said...: hi my name is farhan and iam shocked seen this. i never imagined this happens in pakistan i ahte pakistan.; 5 April 2009 at 17:22
Anonymous said...: Taalibaan murda baad ,..... laaanat laanat laaanat; 15 April 2009 at 15:49