Pak Women Sentenced to Death by Tribal Court Were Slaughtered, Witnesses Say

Four women, 'condemned' to death by a tribal jirga in a Kohistan village were supposed to be shot dead as earlier reports claimed. The fate of the four women condemned for singing and dancing in a mixed crowd still remains a mystery, with the latest news report saying that according to key witnesses the women have been murdered by their relatives by slitting their throats. According to The Express Tribune, it could be a massive cover up under way of a brutal slaughter in Kohistan, if key witnesses are to believed; and the provincial government and its security apparatus is abetting the effort to conceal the facts.

The victims, four women caught on video singing and dancing at a mixed gathering and one 'accomplice', were allegedly shot dead over the weekend and secretly buried in Seertaiy village on the orders of a local jirga for defying strict tribal customs.

According to the story, the footage of the women was filmed and made public by two brothers, Bin Yasir and Gul Nazar. When the video caught the eye of the village elders, the women and those who had made the video were condemned to death.

Later, reports emerged that the five women had been shot dead. The provincial government, however, denied the allegations, insisting that the women were safe, and directed the divisional administration to investigate the matter to further prove their claim.

In this regard, top district officials along with the alleged head of the controversial jirga, visited the village on Monday.

According to a source, Omar Khan, the brother of two of the victims, told the officials that the women were alive but declined to present them in person. The officials, therefore, returned empty-handed as villagers insisted that exposing their women to outsiders was against tribal tradition.

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On the other hand, Muhammad Afzal, the brother of the two condemned men, along with two other villagers, reiterated that the four filmed women and a teenage girl, were slaughtered on May 31.

The men alleged that the women were not shot, but were in fact slaughtered as slitting of throats was 'easier' and would not leave behind any evidence.

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Source-ANI