Wedding video enigma: Months on, Kohistan tribesmen settle scores
Those whose women were caught on tape ‘singing and clapping’ with men shoot three siblings.
I swear to God the women have been killed and my innocent brothers fell prey to the tribal culture,” says Afzal. PHOTO: FILE
KOHISTAN:
In Kohistan, revenge is a dish served cold.
Three brothers, whose younger siblings had allegedly violated tribal customs by dancing with women of another tribe at a wedding ceremony and then making the video public in May 2012, have been killed allegedly by members of the women’s tribe.
The incident took place on Thursday afternoon, but only came to the knowledge of the local administration later. Afzal Kohistani, who is the brother of the deceased and belongs to the Salehkhel tribe, confirmed the incident to The Express Tribune while speaking by phone from an undisclosed location. Afzal was also responsible for taking the matter to the Supreme Court last year.
Three women and an elderly man were also injured in the firing. Palas Police quoted Afzal’s uncle, Binyameen, as saying that he, along with his nephews, were repairing their home in a nearby village when over a hundred armed men from the Azadkhel tribe surrounded them.
Some of these men then raided the house: “Maulvi Javed, Maulvi Noorul Haq, Awal Khan and Shamsuddin entered the home with other gunmen and opened indiscriminate fire on us, killing Afzal’s three elder brothers on the spot, while their wives and I sustained injuries,” Binyameen said.
The three men killed were identified as Shah Faisal, 37, Sher Wali, 35, and Rafiuddin, 32. Binyameen added that the attackers kept the house surrounded until the police arrived at the scene late Thursday night, and continued to threaten them. While the police have registered an FIR against the 12 accused nominated by the complainant, none of them were apprehended till the filing of this report.
The enmity between Azadkhel and Salekhel tribes in Peechbela Union Council, Palas Tehsil, started when a video showing four women of Azadkhel tribe clapping and singing while two boys Gul Nazar and Bib Yasir dancing, was leaked.
An Azadkhel jirga condemned their women as well as the two boys from Salekhel to death for “bringing a bad name to the tribe”.
According to Afzal, the four women were slaughtered and buried in the forest area of the village during the early hours of May 31. After reports of the killings, the two brothers in the video who were the the younger brothers of Afzal were arrested, while the Supreme Court took suo motu notice and sent a fact-finding mission to the region.
The mission, headed by activist Dr Farzana Bari, presented its report declaring that they met women who resembled those shown in the video. The court again sent a judicial commission, headed by a female additional sessions judge, which also endorsed the report of NGO officials stating that the women were alive – and the case was disposed of on June 20. Afzal has stood by his statement.
Speaking to The Express Tribune on Friday, Afzal said, “I swear to God the women have been killed and my innocent brothers fell prey to the tribal culture.” He added that his deceased brothers were survived by over a dozen children. He said there was nobody to support the children as he, along with his two younger brothers, were in hiding. There is reportedly a Rs3 million bounty on their heads, he added.
Afzal also criticised the provincial government and Hazara Division’s commissioner for allegedly using their powers to declare his claims regarding the women’s death false. He also accused the local police and the commissioner of not allowing his family to take the bodies for burial in Abbottabad, since they did not want to perform the final rites in their native village for fear of being attacked.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2013.
In Kohistan, revenge is a dish served cold.
Three brothers, whose younger siblings had allegedly violated tribal customs by dancing with women of another tribe at a wedding ceremony and then making the video public in May 2012, have been killed allegedly by members of the women’s tribe.
The incident took place on Thursday afternoon, but only came to the knowledge of the local administration later. Afzal Kohistani, who is the brother of the deceased and belongs to the Salehkhel tribe, confirmed the incident to The Express Tribune while speaking by phone from an undisclosed location. Afzal was also responsible for taking the matter to the Supreme Court last year.
Three women and an elderly man were also injured in the firing. Palas Police quoted Afzal’s uncle, Binyameen, as saying that he, along with his nephews, were repairing their home in a nearby village when over a hundred armed men from the Azadkhel tribe surrounded them.
Some of these men then raided the house: “Maulvi Javed, Maulvi Noorul Haq, Awal Khan and Shamsuddin entered the home with other gunmen and opened indiscriminate fire on us, killing Afzal’s three elder brothers on the spot, while their wives and I sustained injuries,” Binyameen said.
The three men killed were identified as Shah Faisal, 37, Sher Wali, 35, and Rafiuddin, 32. Binyameen added that the attackers kept the house surrounded until the police arrived at the scene late Thursday night, and continued to threaten them. While the police have registered an FIR against the 12 accused nominated by the complainant, none of them were apprehended till the filing of this report.
The enmity between Azadkhel and Salekhel tribes in Peechbela Union Council, Palas Tehsil, started when a video showing four women of Azadkhel tribe clapping and singing while two boys Gul Nazar and Bib Yasir dancing, was leaked.
An Azadkhel jirga condemned their women as well as the two boys from Salekhel to death for “bringing a bad name to the tribe”.
According to Afzal, the four women were slaughtered and buried in the forest area of the village during the early hours of May 31. After reports of the killings, the two brothers in the video who were the the younger brothers of Afzal were arrested, while the Supreme Court took suo motu notice and sent a fact-finding mission to the region.
The mission, headed by activist Dr Farzana Bari, presented its report declaring that they met women who resembled those shown in the video. The court again sent a judicial commission, headed by a female additional sessions judge, which also endorsed the report of NGO officials stating that the women were alive – and the case was disposed of on June 20. Afzal has stood by his statement.
Speaking to The Express Tribune on Friday, Afzal said, “I swear to God the women have been killed and my innocent brothers fell prey to the tribal culture.” He added that his deceased brothers were survived by over a dozen children. He said there was nobody to support the children as he, along with his two younger brothers, were in hiding. There is reportedly a Rs3 million bounty on their heads, he added.
Afzal also criticised the provincial government and Hazara Division’s commissioner for allegedly using their powers to declare his claims regarding the women’s death false. He also accused the local police and the commissioner of not allowing his family to take the bodies for burial in Abbottabad, since they did not want to perform the final rites in their native village for fear of being attacked.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2013.