MANSEHRA: The Kolai-Palas police in Kohistan region on Monday arrested a man over the killing of his young daughter on the orders of a local jirga.

A jirga in the Barsharyal area of Kolai-Palas district had ordered the killing of the girl and her friend after a social media video and pictures showed them stand with two boys of their village, an act considered taboo in the area.

The other girl was rescued by the police.

“We have taken the main accused into custody, while more arrests will follow in the far-off village, where the murder was reported,” Kolai-Palas deputy superintendent of police Masood Khan told Dawn.

He said the police team looking into the matter had yet to return from the village, where they reached by walking for long hours.

CM orders inquiry, immediate arrest of all those involved in the crime

The DSP also said the girl rescued by police was married off by her family to a resident last night.

The police produced her before a local magistrate to get her protective custody but she insisted on staying with her family.

The official said the Elite Force took one of the boys seen in the video into protective custody and shifted him to an unidentified location.

He said the police had also approached the Federal Investigation Agency’s cybercrime wing to ensure arrests of those who uploaded the video and photos through “fake Facebook and other social media accounts.”

SHO of the Palas police station Noor Mohammad Khan registered the FIR of the murder on his own under Pakistan Penal Code’s sections 302, 311 and 109 as the residents don’t report so-called “honour killings.”

Meanwhile, caretaker Chief Minister retired Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah ordered an inquiry into the killing and directed the police to arrest all those involved in it without delay.

The chief minister asked the

additional chief secretary (home) to “take necessary steps for an immediate inquiry into the incident and submit a detailed report,” according to a statement issued by the CM Secretariat.

He also directed the provincial police’s chief to ensure the immediate arrest of all those involved in the crime.

In the statement, the chief minister said no one could be allowed to take the law into their hands.

“The rule of law and justice will be ensured at all costs,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2023