KARACHI: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s Sindh Chapter has expressed grave concern over published reports about the holding of a jirga in Tangwani, near Sukkur, to illegally adjudicate on a matter that involved a man and a woman who had married against the will of their families.
According to press release issued here on Monday, it is reported that the jirga was presided over by former district naib Nazim Noor Mohammad Khoso and it not only declared the couple, Sadia and Abid Ali, as karo-kari, but also expelled them from the village and imposed a fine of Rs 500,000 on Abid.
The HRCP finds it hard to believe that jirgas are still being held in the rural areas of the province in blatant defiance of a Sindh High Court ruling of 2004. More baffling is the fact that the government in Sindh is led by a party that swears by liberal and progress ideals.
HRCP reiterates its demand that clear directives should be issued to the police and district administrations to prevent such gatherings as their decisions are illegal and against the norms of rule of law, mean to protect the human rights of the citizens. A failure to take immediate and meaningful action would result in more barbaric decisions such as those taken by the jirga held on Saturday in Tangwani, Sindh – Onlinennews
