Kohistan Jirga case: Salekhel tribe asks Azadkhel to own killing of women
Otherwise clear the Salakhel men they plan to kill for making the video of Azadkhel women.
KOHISTAN:
The tribal elders of Salekhel tribe on Sunday decided to call a grand jirga of other tribes asking the Azadkhel tribe to either declare the killing of their five women or clear the Salakhel men from the allegation of being Ghul (liable to be executed under Kohistani custom).
The jirga of Salekhel tribe was held at Shariyal Shrakot village of Palas Tehsil where over a thousand tribesmen gathered to discuss the emerging situation after the video scandal that led to the alleged killing of five women.
According to Qari Abdullah and Muhammad Tahir the two elders of Salekhels, the jirga discussed at length the issue of declaring the four women of Azadkhel tribe and two men from Salekhel tribe as Ghul and later condemning them to death by a Jirga of Azadkhel tribe.
The participants expressed their concern over the concealment of information of killing of five women by Azadkhels before the fact-finding mission of human rights activists and the administration.
Tahir said the tribesmen decided that they would call a grand jirga of other tribes to appoint a mediator.
The mediator would contact the Azadkhel tribe asking them to follow the centuries-old customs of Kohistan and publicly declare the killing of women and if they had not followed the custom of killing women declared Ghul, they should clear their two men already arrested by the police, from the allegation of being liable to be killed.
The mediator would also ask Azadkhel to also clarify whether they would only kill the two men seen in the cell phone video or there were some other people they have planned to murder equalling the killing of their five women, Tahir said.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 11th, 2012.
The tribal elders of Salekhel tribe on Sunday decided to call a grand jirga of other tribes asking the Azadkhel tribe to either declare the killing of their five women or clear the Salakhel men from the allegation of being Ghul (liable to be executed under Kohistani custom).
The jirga of Salekhel tribe was held at Shariyal Shrakot village of Palas Tehsil where over a thousand tribesmen gathered to discuss the emerging situation after the video scandal that led to the alleged killing of five women.
According to Qari Abdullah and Muhammad Tahir the two elders of Salekhels, the jirga discussed at length the issue of declaring the four women of Azadkhel tribe and two men from Salekhel tribe as Ghul and later condemning them to death by a Jirga of Azadkhel tribe.
The participants expressed their concern over the concealment of information of killing of five women by Azadkhels before the fact-finding mission of human rights activists and the administration.
Tahir said the tribesmen decided that they would call a grand jirga of other tribes to appoint a mediator.
The mediator would contact the Azadkhel tribe asking them to follow the centuries-old customs of Kohistan and publicly declare the killing of women and if they had not followed the custom of killing women declared Ghul, they should clear their two men already arrested by the police, from the allegation of being liable to be killed.
The mediator would also ask Azadkhel to also clarify whether they would only kill the two men seen in the cell phone video or there were some other people they have planned to murder equalling the killing of their five women, Tahir said.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 11th, 2012.