A man accused of having illicit relations with a woman was forced to prove his innocence by walking on burning coals after his oath on the Holy Quran was rejected.
The walk was ordered by a jigra in the tribal belt of Dera Ghazi Khan, known as Lakhani.
The man from the district had been accused by a jirga of having an illicit relation with a woman and had to undergo the punishment, as per the centuries-old Baloch tradition.
He was taken to Musakhel district of Balochistan, where he had to prove his innocence in a tradition known as ‘bhaa paani’. It is practiced to detect a ‘sinner’. One of the locals, Maula Jaan said that it was not organised in Dera Ghazi Khan because it was against the law, and police could lodge an FIR.
In the presence of dozens of tribal people, the accused, Hazoor Bakhsh was said to have walked confidently on the coals. Sources said that he safely crossed the fire and did not burn his feet in the process.
Commander of the border military police of the tribal area, Tariq Basra confirmed that as per his investigation, the event did not occur in his locality.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2012.
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