World | Pakistan
Court orders hearing into flogging of Pakistan girl
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has ordered a court hearing into the public flogging of a girl after a video of the incident raised alarm across the Pakistani community.
- By Fasihur Rehman Khan, Correspondent
- Published: 22:46 April 4, 2009
Islamabad: Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has ordered a court hearing into the public flogging of a girl after a video of the incident raised alarm across the Pakistani community.
Chaudhry has ordered the girl to be produced in court at a hearing set for Monday, according to a Supreme Court statement.
He has also demanded that government and regional officials from the North West Frontier Province appear in person at the hearing.
"Chief Justice of Pakistan has been pleased to order that... the matter be fixed before a larger bench on Monday," said a statement from the court.
"Chaudhry has taken notice of the video clipping on TV for violation of fundamental rights, guaranteed under the constitution of Pakistan," it stated.
Swat Taliban apparently flogged the 17-year-old without proper trial and evidence, employing flimsy charges.
The incident has opened up a new debate about religious hard-line elements imparting justice on their own and without any court or knowledge of law.
The girl, as reported by a large section of the Pakistani media, has been forcefully married off to the boy whom the Taliban accused her of having alleged illicit relations with a warning that he could not divorce her.
The boy, a 16-year-old, is an electrician by profession. He also underwent flogging after the incident, but it was not filmed.
The incident took place at Kala Kali village of Kabal Tehsil of Swat.
Eyewitnesses and residents claim the whole incident was cooked up by another man who wanted to marry the girl but upon refusal by the family of the girl was looking for revenge.
"That day the boy was called by the girl's family to fix electricity connection. This was reported to the Taliban by the same man who wanted to avenge the refusal of his marriage proposal.
"As a result a number of Taliban members appeared on the scene, and accused the girl of having illicit relations with the boy," an eyewitness told the media. He said the boy, who ran for his life, was arrested and then flogged separately.
The flogging incident which was aired by private television channels across Pakistan, has generated new controversy with religious right trying to defend the flogging, and the pro-West human rights organisations trying to malign the hard-line religious elements as well as the peace deal between the Swat Taliban and government of North West Frontier Province government.
Parents showed anger and frustration over the incident as the footage showed the girl screaming for mercy as she was being flogged, and three men holding her arms and legs tightly.
Swat Taliban Spokesman Muslim Khan who until Friday admitted that the incident did take place, on Saturday denied the event took place, and accused unknown people of fabricating the story to malign the Taliban.
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