PESHAWAR, May 2: A man has sought help of Peshawar High Court to save his two minor daughters from falling prey to a decision of a local jirga regarding a customary practice called ghag under which a man can lay claim on a female for marriage.

The aggrieved man, Mohammad Nawaz, alleged that a jirga comprising few members of a local peace committee had ordered that he should pay Rs275,000 to his two nephews because he had denied giving hands of his two minor daughters to them in marriage.

Mr Nawaz, a resident of Sharekara, situated on the outskirts of the provincial capital, on Wednesday filed a writ petition before Peshawar High Court requesting the court to direct provincial police officer, capital city police chief and government to provide protection to him and his family against his nephews as well as members of the so-called jirga.

The petitioner prayed the court to declare the practice of ghag as illegal, unlawful and un-Islamic. He also prayed to issue directives to the federal and provincial governments to legislate for abolishing the menace of ghag prevalent in any part of the country including tribal areas.

The word ghag literally means ‘a call’ and it stands for a one-sided demand by a man or his family to have engaged a female for a marriage. Normally, in the areas where this tradition is prevalent if a person makes ghag on a girl no other party seeks hand of the said girl till negotiations fail between the party, who has claimed ghag and the girl's family.

This practice also, sometimes, leads to murder and bloodshed, when either the girl's family refuses to honour the claim or another party doesn’t regard the claim and resolve to marry the girl despite the ghag.

The petitioner told Dawn that one of his daughters, Shaishta, was about 13 while the second one, Zainab, was around 11. He said that he used to work as crane operator at UAE for the last 11 years, but owing to that problem he had to rush back to Pakistan on April 9 following which he was sacked and his visa was also cancelled.

Two days ago he had also staged a protest before the high court along with his two daughters. During the protest they got so emotional that they set the school bags of the two girls on fire.

Mr Nawaz said that few months ago two of his nephews, Jehangir and Abdur Raziq, raised ghag about his two daughters.

He added that he did not submit to the illegal demand following which his nephews took the issue to a jirga comprising head of Adezai Peace Committee Haji Gul Abbas Khan and three others.

He stated that the jirga directed him to pay Rs275,000 to his nephews and in case of not accepting the decision he would be liable to a fine of Rs500,000.

Advocate Mohammad Essa Khan, representing the petitioner, said that as he didn’t follow the illegal orders, the jirga members also became a party against the petitioner and had now been constantly pressurising him. He added that the petitioner had to migrate from his area.

The petitioner alleged that while he was in UAE his nephews and jirga members started teasing his family and as there was no elder male member, therefore, he had to come back.

He alleged that even an attempt was made to abduct his daughter Zainab when she was returning from school, but the bid was averted by the people present on the occasion.

The petitioner said that the custom was not only inhuman, cruel and tyrannical, but it was also derogatory to different provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan.

He pointed out that while the custom of swara had been declared a penal offence through the Criminal law (amendment) Act, 2004, the custom of ghag had still not been declared an offence.