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Kohistan ‘killings’: Second fact-finding mission returns with more questions than answers

Published: June 16, 2012

Dr Farzana Bari expresses fear that the women she met might not be the ones who were filmed. PHOTO: FILE

The second fact-finding mission, set out to collect documentary evidence in the Kohistan ‘killing’ case, returned from Peech Bala area on Saturday after meeting the “condemned” girls.

Five Kohistani women had been allegedly sentenced to death, and later killed by a tribal jirga after a video was released in which they were seen singing at a wedding. The act defied age old tribal traditions.

The fact-finding mission, comprising four activists, reached the Peech Bala area on helicopters and met the women and tribal people on Saturday.

Dr Farzana Bari, a member of the mission, on her return from the trip expressed fear that the women the mission met might not be the ones who had been filmed. She added that she wanted the two boys, jailed for filming the video, to verify the pictures of the women but the police did not allow her to meet them.

She also stated that the collected evidence will only be presented to the Supreme Court.

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Reader Comments (15)

  • Max
    Jun 16, 2012 - 7:15PM

    Dr. Sahiba,
    You and other ladies from NGOs are doing a wonderful job. The bucks stop at the power corridors of Pakistan who have miserably failed to govern and protect the average citizen. I call it failure of the state.

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  • Sky
    Jun 16, 2012 - 7:28PM

    The SC should dig deeper. Don’t let these mullahs run free.

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  • A real Bloch
    Jun 16, 2012 - 8:05PM

    Dr Sahiba:
    Get a life, when you were there before why didnt you raised these questions? These NGOs have to be banned from Pakistan permanently. They are mostly Western intelligence operatives. What is better to disguise as Human Right activists?

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  • Cheers
    Jun 16, 2012 - 8:20PM

    Why so hype about this case? Why not admit that there little say in the tribal areas of Pakistan. when there is no law, things happen like this. It happens every day so rather looking into these few cases, state should act sensibly to establish its law equally everywhere the way the law is maintained in capital. Alas! but it seems like impossible to recover law deficit. go for single case and forget what happens everyday around the countries with men and women!

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  • Animal Farm - Desi
    Jun 16, 2012 - 8:52PM

    Firmly believing in Islam and still doing all this in the name of traditions – nothing can stop this.

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  • Zalim Singh
    Jun 16, 2012 - 8:56PM

    brave lady.

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  • H.A. Khan
    Jun 16, 2012 - 9:07PM

    Please get to the real facts.
    Why cant NDRA do a facial recognition.They should have the necessary software
    Let the truth come out.What ever it be

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  • N.Khan
    Jun 16, 2012 - 9:15PM

    @Sky
    Why do people like yourselves always blame “mullahs” etc whenever something like this happens? It shows obvious ignorance on your part. The reason people who behave like this is because they have a lack of “proper” religious knowledge. Anybody who understands Islam properly, never behaves this way.
    Most of this behaviour stems from tribal, cultural traditions amongst the people of our nation. Have you not seen how in Pak where a man would probably kill his daughter if she ran off with a guy of her choice, but this very same man will not perform his 5 times salat??

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  • Mirza
    Jun 16, 2012 - 9:29PM

    The tribal tyrants and mullahs would continue abusing the women at the name of religion and traditions. It is not an isolated incident and they are all in it. They would lie; cheat, cover and do anything but tell the truth. For them there is no shame in doing this, the only shame is to keep the women worse than animals. They don’t want schools for girls and it is not surprising that the global jihadist find safe havens there.

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  • Thoughtful
    Jun 16, 2012 - 9:36PM

    We watch as it unfolds in slomo

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  • SK
    Jun 17, 2012 - 12:16AM

    keep sending these aunties who run NGOs to look busy while doing nothing and you will keep getting these results…… they are good for nothing and can only talk the talk in drawing rooms.

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  • OmarSharif
    Jun 17, 2012 - 1:14AM

    @A real Bloch:

    So Mullahs can ruin this country further?? Be a real Pakistani too.

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  • Voice of Gilgit
    Jun 17, 2012 - 1:19AM

    Good work MIS Bari, thousands of such causes are the routine in kohistan and chillas areas , luckily this accident cached national and international attention, my request to these NGOs is to please establish some women right office and look after team in these areas to monitor the situation for the sake of humanity.

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  • Soho
    Jun 17, 2012 - 6:07AM

    @A real Bloch:
    Sir, do you even have an idea what’s the criteria to become an American
    Operative? It takes a lot to be one, pls do some research! FYI most of them r hard working
    People trying to help the very unfortunate. Some of them(rarely) may be used as naive informers to gather low level intel as most of the staff work in a very confined surrounding. Think about what class of people these NGO’s deal with! They r helping our people so pls give them credit for that. But I could be wrong so pls enlighten, sorry ENTERTAIN me with your vast knowledge.
    BTW if they leave who’s gonna do their job to serve OUR people?

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  • Imran Con
    Jun 17, 2012 - 7:06AM

    True or false, as said many times by others and myself at least once, the issue that comes only second to the possible murder itself is this should be over and done with by now because it’s an extremely simple issue forced to be made complicated. The judge should put his foot down and get them into his court room to either end it completely or finally get things heading in a productive direction. It also harms the image of the court as it’s saying the tribal areas are above the law and the citizens who even behave well but must interact with the court are unappreciated and of second class ranking in the eyes of the law. Everyone in Pakistan’s borders are supposed to be treated equally in accordance to the law. The tribal areas are part of Pakistan and should be just as accountable.
    Another way to look at it is: What do you call an area that is self governed and is not under the authority of anyone else? A separate country.

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