SWABI, June 5: The brutal custom of Swara caused another death last week when the 18-year-old only brother of a girl, given in marriage to settle a four-decade old dispute, was killed here.

The FIR about the killing of Shamshad has been lodged with the Swabi police against the members of his sister’s in-laws family, Asghar, his brother Gul Zar Khan and their relative Zar Nabi Khan.

Shamshad’s sister ‘S’ had been married to an 11-year old boy of Asghar’s family about an year ago. A few weeks ago, she came to stay with her parents due to harsh treatment meted out to her by her in-laws.

Shamshad filed a suit for dissolution of his sister’s marriage before a family court in Swabi city. He was returning from the court when he was shot dead by some people.

The members of the girl’s in-laws family have been nominated in the FIR wherein it is stated that they were annoyed with the suit for dissolution of the marriage.

According to information gathered through interviews with the family of the girl and jirga members, a young boy, Haider Ali, the paternal uncle of ‘S’, had killed the step brother of Asghar in the remote Katgram village of the Gadoon Amazai area in 1964.

The trial court awarded death penalty to Ali. He filed a clemency petition before the then president Ayub Khan, taking the plea that at the time of the killing, he was a minor.

The president accepted his petition and the death sentence was set aside.

A few years after the release of Ali from prison, a jirga settled the dispute under the tradition of Swara, declaring that ‘S’ would be married to Asghar.

“At that time, she was only three-year old and Asghar was much older,” said the uncle of the girl.

When the girl grew up, Asghar demanded that their Nikah be solemnised. Shamshad and his family resisted, saying how they can marry the young girl to a 65-year old man Asghar was.

Resultant pressure forced the girl’s family to migrate to Topi but they felt unsafe even there and moved to Hamlet village near the Tarbela Dam.

Later, Asghar’s family demanded another girl or woman in marriage.

“We ‘purchased a woman for Rs60,000’ from the Mardan region to fulfil the condition of Asghar. We also gave Rs130,000 compensation to his family,” said a relative of ‘S’.

“However, when the woman reached Topi, she refused to move further, saying life in the mountainous area of her would-be groom must be difficult.”

Later, the Jirga decided that ‘S’ be married to an 11-year old nephew of Asghar and son of Gul Zar Khan and the marriage was solemnized.

After the marriage, life became hell for the girl and her in-laws’ extremely harsh treatment forced her to move back to her parents after six months of her marriage.

Her in-laws wanted her return and the suit for dissolution of her marriage annoyed them to such an extent that they killed her brother, a member of the affected family said.