Police recover girls, arrest jirga members

Jirga forces 2 minor girls into marriage under tribal custom of Swara in K-P but police thwarts trade-off.


Our Correspondent June 05, 2014
Jirga forces 2 minor girls into marriage under tribal custom of Swara in K-P but police thwarts trade-off. DESIGN: FAIZAN DAWOOD

SHANGLA: A jirga forced two minor girls into marriage under the tribal custom of Swara in the Chakesar area of Shangla district of Khyber-Pakhtunkha but the police thwarted the trade-off and detained 19 who had allegedly adjudicated the jirga.

According to a Chakesar police official, Bakht Ali, a resident of Taloon, and Shahnaz Bibi, daughter of Ghulam Haider, allegedly eloped on Friday. Subsequently, a jirga comprising 28 local notables, including local religious clerics, decided to give Bakht’s two nieces in Swara to Haider’s family.

On Monday, the jirga handed over six-year-old Noor Jehan and her five-year-old sister Sadia, daughters of Bakht’s brother, Muhammad Ali, to Haider’s family. The two minor girls were forced to marry with Tariq Ali, 9, and Zakirullah, 11.

After the nikkah was solemnised, a heavy contingent of police reached the spot and arrested 19 people, including the cleric. Police officials said that the two girls have been recovered and a case was registered against 28 people.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5th, 2014.

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