July 3, 2002	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 21,1423

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MULTAN, July 2: Police on Tuesday arrested at least eight people, including members of a Jirga who had ordered last month the gang-rape of a teenage girl as a punishment.

Police raided the village of Meerwala, 120km from here, and arrested alleged rapists and onlookers, district police officer Farman Ali Chaudhry said.

“Culprits involved in the case will not go unpunished,” Farman said.

The 18-year-old girl was raped last month as “punishment” meted out by the Jirga for her 12-year-old brother’s alleged illicit affair with a woman from another tribe. —AFP

PUNJAB GOVERNOR: Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool has directed provincial ministers Rana Ijaz and Shaheen Attiqur Rehman to visit the Jhugiwala (Meerwala) village and ascertain details from the victim family, adds Multan correspondent.

According to a handout, the ministers have been asked to submit their report within 72 hours.

The governor suspended the SDPO and SHO of the Jatoi tehsil and issued show-cause notices to the DPO of Muzaffargarh and the district Nazim for their belated action and ignorance.

Sources said the girl was gang-raped in the Jatoi tehsil of Muzaffargarh district last month on the orders of the Jirga as a punishment for her brother’s alleged illicit relations with a girl of powerful Mastoi clan of the area.

The Mastoi family claimed on June 22 that they had found Shakoor, 12, of the low caste Tattla clan in an objectionable condition with a Mastoi girl, who is said to be six to eight years older to him.

The Mastois called a Jirga to decide the case. The Jirga consisted of six members — Fayyaz, Manzoor, Allah Ditta, Maulvi Abdul Razzaq and Mazoor Jatoi. The name of the sixth member could not be ascertained. Some 300 to 400 people of the village gathered to witness the Jirga proceedings.

Mastoi is the sub-clan of Balochi Khosa tribe, while Tattlas are a part of non-Balochi Gujjar clan. The matter was to be decided as per the traditions of the complainant family. Fayyaz, Manzoor and Allah Ditta pleaded that the matter should be decided on the principle of ‘an eye for an eye’. But the rest of the Jirga members opposed it and claimed that in accordance with the account of the Mastoi family, Shakoor and the Mastoi girl were found in an objectionable condition, therefore the Jirga should recommend Nikah of the couple, and as a punishment Tattlas should be directed to marry one of their girls to a Mastoi man.

However, Fayyaz, Manzoor and Allah Ditta insisted that the insult to the Mastois could only be lessened by subjecting a Tattla girl to gang-rape. At this, the dissenting Jirga members walked out.

The remaining Jirga members ordered “G, father of Shakoor, to bring his daughter so that the Jirga decision could be enforced. “G” brought his daughter, and handed her over to the Jirga.

Abdul Khaliq, Allah Ditta, Fayyaz an another man then dragged the girl to a nearby farm house and raped her. The fourth culprit could not be identified. According to the Jatoi police, rapists Fayyaz and Allah Ditta are some other men and not the members of the Jirga.

On June 30, the victim girl broke her silence and reported the matter to the Jatoi police. The police registered a case under sections 10-7/79 (sub-section III) against the three Jirga members and four rapists.

SHO Malik Nazeer of the Jatoi police said the police had arrested Aslam, Allah Ditta, Khaleel, Qasim, Ghulam Husain, Hazoor Bakhsh, Rasool Bakhsh and Allah Diwaya. An assistant clerk at the Jatoi police station said that Jirga members had also been arrested while the main culprits were still at large.

Talking to Dawn, Jatoi tehsil Nazim Sardar Nasrullah Khan Jatoi revealed even more tragic part of the Meerwala incident. He said according to his information the Mastois had spotted their girl sitting in a field with Shakoor. This infuriated them who sodomized the boy. Later, they feared that the boy or his family might raise hue and cry, and plotted to give a twist to the story.

The Nazim said Mastois were his voters but they should be punished in accordance with the law.