Family dispute: Jirga’s arrest in ‘swara’ case ordered

The jirga in Buner had sanctioned the handover of two sisters.

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday directed the police in Buner district to act within three days against jirga members and others accused of handing over two sisters to a rival family as ‘swara’ for settling a dispute.

The two-member bench, comprising Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Syed Sajjad Hassan Shah, directed the DPO to lodge an first information report against the members of the jirga, who had made the controversial decision 17 years ago, and arrest them within three days.

The bench also directed the DPO to provide protection to the two women so that the jirga’s decision could not be implemented, and asked police high-ups to help in arranging marriages for the girls in accordance to their free will.

The bench was hearing a writ petition filed by Advocate Fazal Ilahi Khan on behalf of the two sisters, Basmeena and Ghasiba, who had requested the court to provide them protection against the inhuman custom of swara.

“We are not responsible for the wrongdoings of our uncles. We want protection of the court and marriage of our own free will,” the sisters told the bench.

The bench observed that neither Islam nor Pakistani law allowed such inhuman and brutal customary practices, adding that it would never allow any jirga member to resort to such practices.

The bench also warned the male family members of the petitioners that they would also be arrested if they went ahead with the marriages of the two women with members of the rival group.

The petitioners stated that 17 years ago when they were minor girls a dispute arose between their family and that of Hazrat Fazal over the kidnapping of a woman. They stated that their uncles, Iqbal Hussain and Ali Zada, were charged with kidnapping and adultery.

They claimed that a jirga in Totalai Village in Buner resolved the dispute with the condition that they (Basmeena and Ghasiba) would be handed over in swara to the rival group and a sum of Rs60, 000 would be paid as compensation.

It was decided that upon attaining maturity the petitioners would be married to two boys, Hazrat and Rehan Gul, of the rival family.

They added that after a certain age they had opposed the match and now feared that they might be harmed by the rival family after receiving threats from them.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2010.