HRCP demands action against jirgas

Human Rights Commission expresses concern over reports of jirga held near Sukkur to illegally settle a matter.

KARACHI: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Sindh chapter, expressed concern over the reports of a jirga that was held in Tangwani, near Sukkur, to illegally settle a matter that involved the marriage of a man and a woman against the will of their families.

According to a press release issued on Monday, the jirga was presided over by former district naib nazim Noor Mohammad Khoso, where Sadia and Abid Ali were not only declared as karo-kari but were also forced to leave the village, while Abid was asked to pay a fine of Rs500,000.

“The HRCP finds it hard to believe that jirgas are still being held in the rural areas of the province in blatant defiance of a Sindh High Court ruling in 2004,” it was said the press release.

More baffling is the fact that the government in Sindh is led by a party that swears by liberal and progressive ideals, it was added. Clear directives should be issued to the police and district administrations to prevent such gatherings from taking place “as their decisions are illegal”, the HRCP demanded.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2010.