Reconciliation reached in K-P’s infamous stripping case

The family forgives the accused

DERA ISMAIL KHAN:

Four years after the infamous case of stripping a girl in the presence of the entire village in Khyber-Pakthunkhwa's (K-P) Dera Ismail Khan District, the victim's family and the accused party reached a reconciliation in the case.

A few days ago, a local court had ordered the release of the nine accused who had been in prison for three years after both parties reached a settlement.

Local residents told The Express Tribune that dozens of people, along with the nine accused and a bull (to be presented as a gift), reached the residence of Sharifa Bibi and met her brother Sajid.

The accused asked for the forgiveness of the victim’s family. The family reportedly forgave them as per the local Jirga's tradition.

The notorious incident took place in November 2017 when Sharifa Bibi was stripped and paraded in the village to make her an example for others after a verbal fight.

Read more: Four arrested for harassing, blackmailing woman in Karachi

All the accused had managed to escape after committing the crime and police was unable to arrest the main accused in the case for several years. A year and a half ago, the main accused surrendered to local police voluntarily.

Civil society and the general public had questioned the writ of the government and police in the area after the notorious incident and blamed some local politicians for supporting the accused.

“A former MNA from Tank district and PML-N’s senior vice president Sardar Dawar Khan Kundi and his brother, former district Nazim Tank Sardar Mustafa Kundi, and a local journalist Sheik Tuqir Akram played a pivotal role to solve the issue through a Jirga,” claimed local residents while talking to The Express Tribune.