More 'vani' cases come to light

The blaze of publicity given to the 'vani' case in Mianwali, where eight girls were "given away" to men from a rival family as part of a deal, has led to other such cases coming into the open.

At least six other girls, to be given away in marriage under the custom of "vani", which involves handing over women to rival parties as a means to settle a dispute or end a feud, have come forward in the same area.

In most cases, the marriage of the girls had been agreed under this tradition when they were infants. Three such victims recently approached journalists in Mianwali, through male relatives, and said they wished to be saved from such marriages.

The Punjab law minister had earlier said a law outlawing vani will be drafted and promulgated within weeks.

Until this happens, it is unclear whether the government intends to take action in other cases of vani as it did in the case of the eight girls being given away in exchange for the pardon of their fathers, under the country's Qisas and Diyat laws.

The two parties are now engaged in finalising the portion of the deal involving the handing over by the convicts of Rs 8 million as blood money in exchange for their lives.

The decision taken to leave the women out of the deal, agreed to by the parties, is being honoured and the district administration has said it will ensure that there is no attempt to go back on this.

The Punjab government has ordered the judicial magistrate of the area to supervise the blood money deal.