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Swat Taliban ‘commander’ dies of kidney failure

Swat Taliban ‘commander’ dies of kidney failure

MINGORA: The man who witnessed as well as filmed the Taliban flogging a teenage girl in Swat has spoken out. The flogging was featured in a two-minute long video shot from a mobile phone and shows a burqah-clad woman lying on the ground while being whipped by the Taliban.

Shaukat is the only eye-witness who has come forward and spoken to Dawn News about the incident.

He claimed that the incident took place two weeks ago.

Giving the incident's background, Shaukat said the allegation against and the treatment meted out to the girl was actually a punishment against her for refusing a marriage proposal.

The man who proposed to marry her joined the ranks of the Taliban after the rejection and this was how he took his revenge from the 17-year-old girl, Dawn News quoted Shaukat as saying.

When asked about the reaction of the people who had witnessed the whole episode, Shaukat said the people in Swat are so scared that no one has the courage to stand up and speak out against the Taliban and their verdicts.