Police foils swara attempt, arrests seven people

Police raided the arrested the jirga elder, fathers of the girl and the boy along with four other jirga members.

SWAT: Kalokot police foiled an attempt to give away a girl in swara in Ragstoon, Matta tehsil, Swat on Sunday and arrested seven people, including a jirga elder.

Kalakot police station SHO Fazal Malik said they received a tip-off that a jirga was being held in Ragstoon which planned to marry off six-year-old Hasina in swara to eight-year-old Imran, son of Akbar Ali.

According to Malik, Hasina’s uncle Gul Zamin had allegedly kidnapped Akbar Ali’s daughter a while ago on the pretext of marrying her. The move had triggered enmity between the two families.

Malik added a local jirga acting as a mediator between the two families decided to resolve the matter by giving Zamin’s niece in swara to Ali’s son.

Police however raided the jirga and arrested Hamid, the jirga elder, fathers of the girl and the boy along with four other jirga members. The accused men will be produced in court today (Monday).

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2013.