MIANWALI, Feb 20: The tradition of Vani is in the limelight as a favourite subject of human rights’ activists and their organizations. The melodrama is overshadowing the truth about the tradition and is thriving on twisted facts. The tradition common in several parts of the country is being made Mianwali-specific. Through this modest attempt, the tradition is desired to be brought in its true perspective.

Vani may be defined as the name of the custom of giving females (minor as well as majors) in marriage by the offending party to the males of the victim party as consideration of compromising offences. The tradition had been in vogue since centuries in the NWFP under the name of Sawara and in Balochistan and some parts of Sindh under different names. District Mianwali is not the only Vani-observing area.

It will be interesting to note that all the NGOs and their activists now riding on the tide of media against Vani never paid heed to this custom now termed inhuman and tyrannical before July 24, 2002, when the press ran the report over the pathetic event of a compromise that took place at Abbakhel, a small village in Mianwali, demonstrating the tradition of Vani in a pervert way because a very young girl among seven others was to be married to a 70-year-old man, besides eight million rupees consideration of compromise, to save four persons from the gallows. The story prompted the apex court to move promptly and effectively against the inequitable terms of compromise. This ignited a media hype in national and international circles. It also provided an opportunity to NGOs to show their efficiency in a matter to which they remained oblivious for long. Since then there is an attempt at misrepresenting the facts pertaining to this custom and the motivated parties are using the movement against Vani for their personal ends. Some unscrupulous elements in the media and NGOs are in fact attacking the valorous values of the people of this district to the extent of abusiveness in the name of drive against Vani.

The warring tribes in fact introduced the custom of Vani for patching up longstanding family feuds, particularly those arising out of murder. The custom descended down to the present time with the philosophy and intention behind it to punish the party committing murder or seriously violating the honour of the other party and to create a blood relationship among inimical parties for doing away with the continuing feuds as well as mitigating or demolishing altogether the chances of re-emergence of previous enmity among the future generation of the parties, since they would be interrelated by blood through the custom of Vani. The custom always acclaimed general acceptance since it served its purpose well; of course, with certain exceptions where it did bring misery and hardship to the female victim of this tradition. It is pertinent to note that Vani only takes place among the people who can traditionally inter-marry because of caste prejudices. There is no Vani out of caste fellowship. It is also misleading to say that the males save their lives at the cost of miseries to the lives of their females. Family feuds do bring more misery to the females of warring tribes. There is another misconception that Vani is a sort of obligatory panchayat decision. Such decisions are choices and not compulsions. In fact the compromise carrying Vani marriages are effected through the mediation of common friends of both the parties and their decisions are not binding on any of them. Although there are some good aspects of Vani, it is still not desirable and the legislature rightly enacted law against the custom by adding Sec.310-A in the Pakistan Penal Code. The law will certainly stop this custom in future although the tradition had stopped practically much earlier here in this district after the Abbakhel event was highlighted. Some jurists including President District Bar Mianwali, Liaqat Ali Malik, are of the view that the law introduced is defective, since it penalizes the persons who give their females as ‘Badl-i-sulh’ and the persons demanding such Badl-i-sulh are not directly subject to this amendment in the law. Moreover, the past transactions of Vani compromises in which minor girls were given in marriage who now attained the age of marriage consummation may also fall under the mischief of this amendment.

It is precisely this lack of necessary statutory explanation to the amendment, which provided a pretext to the motivated persons to back out of their earlier commitments of compromise, the benefits of which they had already enjoyed. They are now refusing to marry their females to the victim party, which is giving rise to the renewal of extinguished enmities. One such instance is the case of Amina Bibi of Mauza Sultanwala Sharqi of the district. The minor females in that case were married against the Vani tradition in a compromise effected in the year 1995. As a result of the compromise, one Iqbal Khan was acquitted in a murder case. Now after the introduction of Section 310-A PPC, the females and their parents refused to acknowledge the marriages, rather preferred to rise on the tide of media pressure to wriggle out of their earlier bond and commitment. It is learnt that Mianwali police under the media-cum-administrative pressure have registered a case u/s 310-A, 109 PPC against both the parties as well as the mediators in a compromise effected in the year 1995.

Some lawyers opined that the registration of FIR, in circumstances of this case, is misplaced altogether. They say that there was no law like 310-A in the year 1995 and the new amendment is rightly without retrospective effect, therefore the observance of Vani tradition in the year 1995 does not come within the ambit of this recent amendment in the law. Moreover the ‘Walis’ of minor girls agreeing at that point of time are now publicly refusing to give such females in marriage to the other party, therefore there is no incidence of any offence u/s 310-A, read with 109 PPC. The FIR when looked from this angle is absolutely liable to quashment. Any arrest made under this criminal case may be termed an outright illegal detention. There are other instances where the police is proceeding against the parties who had in the past amicably settled their enmities under the custom of Vani. Such police practice is not only reviving the old enmities among the people but also giving rise to genuine grievance of the victim parties who are heard asking, what about the blood of their dear ones shed at the hands of accused parties if they are not going to marry the females given in Vani? One mediator of such compromise who now stands roped in such a criminal case was infuriated and remarked that the accused party had beseeched him to intervene for a compromise with the offer that they were ready to give anything in consideration for their compromise to save their men from the gallows but now they are on the shoulders of the media for backing out of their commitments. It is learnt that some so-called activists of certain NGOs are in the business of money making by approaching the interested persons to help them out of their Vani commitments through the media pressure.

The developing scenario in the circumstances has the tendency of playing havoc with society by re-igniting the flames of family feuds. It will be like choosing a bigger evil at the cost of a lesser one. It is high time for the policy makers to ponder over the issue of past Vani transactions and reconsider the law amended with a view to saving the past transactions of Vani tradition lest the present practice may deteriorate the calm and tranquillity among the warring tribal people of this district and elsewhere. —KHURSHID ANWAR KHAN