| Submit your comments on this article |
| India-Pakistan |
| NWFP govt probably won't produce Swat flogging victim in court |
| 2009-04-07 |
| [The News (Pak)] The NWFP chief secretary and the inspector general of police (IGP) may not produce a Swati girl, who was publicly lashed by suspected militants, as the officials appear before the larger bench of the Supreme Court today (Monday). Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had taken a suo moto notice of the public lashing of the teenaged girl in Swat after a footage of the incident appeared on private television channels. Apart from the federal interior secretary, the NWFP chief secretary, IGP, advocate general and president of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) were directed to appear and produce the victim before the larger bench of the Supreme Court. "We are yet to take the girl into our protection and that's why we may not produce her before the court on Monday," Malakand Division Commissioner Syed Muhammad Javed told The News on Sunday. IGP Malik Naveed Khan could not be contacted despite repeated attempts on his residence's telephone number. His cellular phone remained switched off all the day. The family of the victim and the local elders, reportedly belonging to the Kala Kelay in Kabal, refused to let the girl go with the authorities due to social pressure and militants' fear. The Malakand commissioner and the acting DIG were directed by CS Javed Iqbal and IGP Naveed to gather details of the event. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Instead, Hussain said, the girl told the judge the man was her husband, and that the video was a fake distributed to titillate the Taliwhackers |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-04-07 18:31 |
| #1 Move it along. Nuthin to see here... A Pakistani teenage girl at the center of national outrage over a video purporting to show her public flogging by the Taliban reportedly told an Islamic judge and a provincial official that the incident never happened. The video, shown last week by Pakistani television and widely posted on the Web, shows the crying 17-year-old girl being held down by several men — including a man identified as her brother — as a member of the Taliban beats her. The incident reportedly took place between two and five weeks ago in the Swat Valley village of Kala Killay. The video has sparked nationwide condemnation and demonstrations challenging the government's decision to allow Shariah law into the Taliban-controlled region. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called for an immediate inquiry and Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry — recently restored to office — ordered police and government officials from the north-western territory to bring the girl to court for questioning. But the girl, identified as Chand Bibi, instead was interviewed at her home by an Islamic judge and a local government commissioner, and reportedly told them that the beating never happened. "She requested the judge and the commissioner to spare her from appearing in the court in Islamabad," said provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said, the Times of India reported. Hussain said that upon questioning by the Islamic judge, she denied neighbors' claims that she had been dragged from her home, held down and flogged. She also denied reports that she had been charged with having an illicit relationship with a local man — who witnesses claim also was beaten — or that the Taliban forced the two to marry, the Times reported. Instead, Hussain said, the girl told the judge the man was her husband, and that the video was a fake distributed to disrupt the peace process in the region. So...does this get the Joooos off the hook? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-04-07 11:15 |