KARACHI, May 8: A non-governmental organization, War Against Rape, has demanded of the authorities to declare karo-kari illegal, as a large number of women are killed on the pretext of that tradition.

In a statement, issued on Saturday, the WAR, referring to a recent judgement of the Sindh High Court's Sukkur Bench, which declared jirga trials unconstitutional, said that now the police should be made duty-bound to take appropriate action to prevent holding of such trials in their jurisdiction.

It said that jirga system had been responsible for the prevalence of karo-kari, in the country, particularly in its rural areas.

It said that although it was difficult to obtain accurate data, however, over 1,260 cases of karo-kari were reported in the country during 2003, which was just a tip of an iceberg, as majority of the cases go unreported.

The NGO said that one of the main obstacles in the abolishment of this inhuman and horrible practice had been the existence of jirga system.