PESHAWAR, July 3: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday demanded punishment for all those involved in the incident of gang-rape of a teenage girl on order of a tribal Jirga in Muzzafargarh.

In a press release, HRCP Chairperson Afrasiab Khattak and Secretary-General Hina Jilani said the increasing incidents of terrible atrocities against women were a reflection on the state of the society and the status of women within it.

They demanded an immediate disbanding of all extra-judicial tribunals and the putting in place of measures to prevent the assembly of Jirgas or other informal tribunals that sought to perform the duty of courts and meted out verdicts that often grossly violated the rights of citizens.

They said: “The gang-rape of a young woman near Muzzafargarh, as a form of punishment, apparently ordered by a tribal Jirga, is particularly shocking and presents an alarming picture of the condition in which so many women live and the atrocities they face. The HRCP is also especially shocked that the tribal Jirga should have been allowed to meet, order the gang-rape of a teenaged woman apparently as punishment for the action of her brother and then have this terrible verdict implemented in the presence of at least 1,000 people.”

The HRCP office-bearers said that it was clear that such a heinous  crime could not take place without the connivance of the authorities.

The increasing incidents of Jirgas meeting and unlawfully determining matters of crime and punishment could take place only with the involvement of local authorities and those who back them, they said.

The fact that no case was registered for several days after the terrible incident in Muzzafargarh was further evidence of official negligence and involvement in the issue, they said.

The HRCP demanded punishment under the law for all those involved in  the crime, as well as the onlookers and members of the administration who permitted it to take place.