KARACHI, Dec 2: Various NGOs at a meeting here on Thursday demanded capital punishment to the culprits of Karo-kari, and suggested that the relief under Qisas and Diyat Ordinance should not be extended to a Karo-kari accused.

Some 17 NGOs participated in the meeting organized by the Karachi Women's Peace Committee. The meeting further demanded that compromise should not be allowed in the Karo-kari related cases as this could encourage culprits of the cruel custom. They stressed that the 'wali' of a victim in such cases should always be the state.

The speakers pointed out that in most of the Karo-kari cases, a culprits would usually be close relative, e.g. father, brother, husband, son, etc, and if a compromise was allowed, then victim's relatives could pardon the culprit and the latter might go unpunished.

Condemning Karo-kari as socio-cultural menace, they said that it was not just a crime against women, but a crime against the whole nation. They criticized revival of the jirga system and also denounced the recognition of arbitration by 'nek mard'. They condemned all jirgas as interference and infringement of the sovereignty of the constitution and the state.

Participants of the meeting included Begum Tazeen Faridi (APWA), Nargis Rehman (Karachi Women's Peace Committee), Marium Palijo (Sindhyani Tehreek), Akhtar Ebrahim (Bahbood Association), Sabera Tapal (SAARC Women's Association), Saadia Agha (Raast), Rahila Rahim (Hands), Shirin Rahmatullah (Institute of Social Research and Development); Siddiqeh Hidayatullah (OAKS), Seema Ahmad (Falah Trust), Shaista Zaidi (Bazme Amina), Qudsia Akbar (Masjid School Project), Saeede Siddiqui (Horticulture Group); Yasmeen Ghulam Ali (Abbas Town Service), Shazia Haji (Allah Din Trust), and Zakia Zeba (National Thinkers Forum).