MIANWALI, Dec 5: Three more girls of Wandha Saroowala, Musakhel, 15 kilometres from here, have refused to become victims of vani, a cruel tribal rite, and appealed to President Gen Pervaiz Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the Supreme Court to save them from being ruined.

Asia Khatoon, 18-year-old daughter of Sultan Khan, Kausar kahtoon, 13, daughter of Abdul Wahid Khan and Yasmin, 10, daughter of Sabir Khan, have refused to be married off to men belonging to a rival clan.

Reports said the three girls belonging to Gul Mir tribe were given away as vani some five years back when the brother of a girl, Saleem Khan, son of Sabir Khan, had eloped with a girl of their rival clan, Safia bibi, in January 2000.

Though Safia returned back to her parents two and a half months after her elopement, a Punchayat decided that three girls of Saleem’s family should be married off to men belonging to aggrieved clan as compensation for the offence.

Accordingly, Asia Khatoon’s (then 13) Nikah was solemnized with Ahmed Khan (19), Kausar Khatoon’s (then 8) with Sajid Khan (16) and Yasmin’s (then 7) with Saleem Khan (then 4). Their Nikahs were solemnized verbally (locally called Shariat Nikah).

The story took another turn when Ahmad Khan, son of Alam Khan, abducted Nasreen Bibi, daughter of Sabir Khan of Gul Mir tribe, in 2002. Nasreen’s parents launched a Hudood FIR against four persons. Nasreen was also returned to her parents after three months of her abduction.

During the trial of the case, a lower court acquitted three of the accused, while the main accused, Ahmed Khan, was awarded 25-year imprisonment which was later reduced to 10 years by the Lahore High Court.

The three girls approached advocate Khalil-ur-Rehman Niazi of the HRCP at Mianwali to seek help, and appealed to the president, prime minister and the apex court to intervene in the matter.