SUKKUR: The Ghotki police have registered a case against eight people for their alleged involvement in holding a jirga or council of elders that ordered a seven-year-old girl’s marriage to a 25-year-old man.
On Saturday, Laila from Daharki filed a petition in the district and sessions court, Ghotki. Her lawyer, Mohammad Akram Samoon, stated that some time ago Jan Mohammad Shar had accused his wife Raheeman of having illicit relations with Laila’s husband Niazi Shar. Jan Mohamad had then divorced his wife.
According to the lawyer, after divorcing his wife, Jan Mohammad had tried to coerce Niazi to reconcile the accusations of karo-kari through a jirga. Finally a tribunal was held on October 13 under the chairmanship of an elder, Wahid Bux Shar, Samoon told the court.
The council heard both sides of the story and then declared Niazi Shar and Raheeman as karo-kari. It imposed a fine of Rs200,000 on Niazi and also ordered him to give his seven-year-old daughter Nazia’s hand in marriage to Wahid Bux’s son Sahib Shar.
Laila’s husband refused to obey the verdict and tried to register a complaint at the police station but the police would not cooperate. After this Laila decided to seek help from the court.
After hearing the petition, the district and sessions judge, Ghotki, Khadim Hussain Tunio, issued notice to the Daharki SHO to appear before the court on Monday and file his comments.
On Monday, ASI Lehno Khan Bozdar of Daharki police station appeared before the court, which ordered him to register a case against eight people including Wahid Bux Shar, Jan Mohammad Shar, Rafiq Shar and five others, Samoon said.
Daharki HC Riaz Selro told The Express Tribune that a case has been registered against the accused men but so far no arrests have been made.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 19th, 2010.
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