While appreciating the provincial and federal governments’ quick response to investigate the issue, the court added that if the plaintiff had more evidence, the case could be reopened.
On Wednesday, a report by a judicial officer was presented before the three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The report stated that media reports about the killings were “bogus” and that the girls were alive.
However, social worker Dr Farzana Bari, who was part of a delegation that visited Kohistan to investigate the matter, said she still had some “reservations”.
Bari said the girls presented before them did not completely resemble the girls in the video. However, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja said that the statement given by Muhammad Afzal, the brother of two men who filmed the video, proved to be untrue.
Afzal, whose brothers, Bin Yasir and Gul Nazar, had allegedly made the film and uploaded it on a video-sharing site, had insisted that the girls had been slaughtered and secretly buried.
The Kohistan delegation, comprising Munira Abbasi, MNA Bushra Gohar, women rights activist Dr Farzana Bari and administration officials, also submitted its report before the court.
Dr Bari, who wrote a separate note regarding the identity of two girls, told the court that there was 90% similarity between the girls presented to them and the ones in the footage. However, she added that she would like to further probe the matter.
The bench, however, told her that investigations had been completed but if she has overwhelming evidence later, she should forward it to the judges.
The court directed the office to send the report to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary, the establishment secretary and the women division for information.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2012.
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The girls are safe and alive - good news. But the real problems are such customs wherein Jirga members can give a verdict having punishment to kill the women or men. If the Jirga system /such customs are allowed to continue and accepted in the society be it tribal or urban, incidents of killings are bound to happen. This mindset is required to undergo a change and education to all and awareness of civilized thoughts among the public at large could be the probable solution. Till then continue to bear the grief