ISLAMABAD, April 4 Political parties and rights organisations on Saturday organised demonstrations in Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar, Lahore, Multan, Hyderabad, Khairpur, Sialkot and other towns and cities, condemning the public flogging of a 17-year-old girl in Swat after television channels telecast a clip showing the lashing.

However, the Swat Taliban denied the incident and termed the video fake.

Our Mingora correspondent says the Tehrik-i-Taliban has denied having flogged the girl, terming the video clip a conspiracy to sabotage the peace agreement signed in February.

Speaking at a press conference at Charbagh, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told reporters that a woman, wife of Rehmat Jalal, was flogged about six months ago for “illegally living with her father-in-law Noor Jalal for eight years”. The man was also flogged, he added.

The woman, he said, was flogged “by four boys after collecting proper evidence”. The boys, Wajid Ali, Abid, Bilal and Rafiullah, were produced before the media.

Muslim Khan said the video had been prepared by some “Westernised NGO to malign Islam and to sabotage the peace agreement”.

In Islamabad, chief of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf Imran Khan condemned the incident and said strong action should be taken against people responsible for the flogging.

“Perpetrators of this heinous act are not human beings. They are savages. We have to wage a joint fight against them,” said prominent human rights activist Tahira Abdullah.

Allama Inayat Ali Shakir, Mufti Abdul Qavi, Allama Nisar Mustafa, Allama Rai Zafar Ali, Allama Mujahid Kazmi, Allama Ahmad Saeed Qureshi also condemned the flogging and said it was un-Islamic, immoral, unethical and against all socio-religious values.

They said that no religion permitted people to humiliate and abuse women, adding that Islam accords a high social status to women.

“Such fanatics must be dealt with an iron fist. They are tarnishing the international image of Islam and Pakistan.”

Pakistan Tour Operators Association also denounced the flogging. “This incident is yet another blow to the tourism industry in the scenic valley,” said president of the organisation Amjad Ayub.

Women's Parliamentary Caucus strongly condemned the lashing. Its secretary, Nafisa Shah, called for immediate action.

'Taliban Hatao, Mulk Bachao' read one banner out of many in a rally participated by civil society activists, journalists, human rights activists, students and youth in Islamabad. Another banner rejected Taliban and their code of ethics.

An interesting situation developed when students of a local seminary came out, believing the women rights activists protesting in Super Market in Islamabad to be protesting against their madressah. The situation was, however, resolved soon.

“It was a misunderstanding. It was immediately resolved when we informed them about the objective of the protest,” Ms Samina Asghar Khan, one of the participants of the rally, said.

In Lahore, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), civil society organisations and students took out a protest demonstration, which was addressed by Asma Jehangir, Iqbal Haider, Dr Mehdi Hassan, PPP leader Ghulam Abbas, Salima Hashmi and Farooq Tariq.

In Karachi, the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) and other civil society organisations held a rally in front of the press club, urging the government to take practical steps to stop violence against women and to effectively counter the growing threat of Talibanisation in the country.

Addressing a press conference, chairperson of the NCSW Anis Haroon said it was a serious issue and a blatant violation of human rights. She said “The civil society ... will not allow anyone to turn Pakistan into (another) Afghanistan.”

The Mutahidda Qaumi Movement flayed the flogging and said the party would stage a peaceful protest on April 5. MQM's chief Altaf Hussain appealed to the people to display black flags and banners at their houses, shops and streets to register protest against the incident.

Governor of Sindh Dr Ishratul Ebad has also condemned the girl's public flogging in Swat.

President of the Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid Zia Ahmed Awan and Secretary General of the Sindh chapter of the Labor Party of Pakistan Younus Rahu have also condemned the incident.

Two demonstrations were staged in Multan, participated by the Aurat Foundation, the South Asia Partnership, Pakistan, the Violence Against Women Group and the Legislative Watch Group and the Pattan Development Organisation.

PML-N leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi said the flogging was against the Islamic concept of justice and humanity.

Zohra Sajjad Zaidi of the Punjab NGOs Forum said her organisation had organised protests in 13 districts of southern Punjab.

In Hyderabad, Chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan Sahibzada Abul Khair Mohammad Zubair condemned the flogging and said that there was no room for public flogging of women in the Shariah.

In Khairpur, the Sindhi Speakers' Forum condemned the incident.