MINGORA The Swat peace jirga held a demonstration here on Monday in protest against the video footage showing flogging of a girl and called upon President Asif Ali Zardari to approve the proposed Nizam-i-Adl regulation.
The protesters threatened to start a long march towards Islamabad if the government failed to accept their demands. Hundreds of people from different areas of the valley gathered at the Green Chowk despite heavy rain.
The speakers termed the video footage part of a conspiracy to derail the peace process launched by the NWFP government. They alleged that the video was fake and aimed at defaming Islam and sabotaging the Swat peace deal.
They criticised Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain for issuing statements about the footage. The speakers asked Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to take suo motu notice of release of the 'fake footage by NGOs'.
The demonstration was followed by a peace march. The participants chanted slogans for enforcement of shariat. The jirga's chief, Syed Inamur Rehman, Behr-i-Karam Khan, Mohammad Iqbal, Ibrahim Dewalae, Kareemul Hadi and Gul Mohammad also spoke.
The Muttahida Ulema Council of Swat announced that it would hold a demonstration on Friday against the video. A meeting of the council was held at the office of Jamaat-i-Islami.
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