ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing in the suo motu notice in the Kohistan death decree case to 6 pm, DawnNews reported.
The court had taken a suo motu notice on the issue on Monday after reports came up that clerics had allegedly issued orders for the killing of four women and two men after a mobile phone video emerged of the six singing and dancing at a wedding in a remote village in Kohistan.
A three-judge bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S. Khwaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain had taken up the notice in the case.
During the hearing, Attorney General Irfan Qadir informed the court that a fact-finding team was sent to Kohistan and it had determined that no such incident had taken place.
Responding to which, the chief justice inquired why the women in question had not been presented before the court. He reiterated that the women would have to be produced before the bench.
The attorney general reiterated that the video was faulty and no such incident had taken place, upon which the chief justice said that the women should be produced in court if they have not been murdered.
The chief justice also reprimanded the Hazara regional commissioner and said he must produce the women by Wednesday evening and failing to do so would require him to prepare to quit his job.Chief Justice Iftikhar directed Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ghulam Dastgir that the women should be handled with the utmost respect and should be produced before the court.
Govt delegation leaves for Kohistan
On the orders of the Supreme Court, a government delegation using a helicopter left for Kohistan.
The delegation had reached Kohistan's Pattan region but could not reach the Ochar Nalay area reportedly due to bad weather conditions.
The delegation has been tasked with transporting the five women to Islamabad.
Mohammad Afzal reiterates women killed
Speaking outside the court, Mohammad Afzal, who had reported the matter earlier, reiterated that all five women had been killed.
Afzal said the women, who were also related to him, were killed on May 30 and their throats had been slit.
Afzal said the decision to kill the women had been taken by a jirga in Mansehra a month ago. He also said that DIG Hazara Naeem Khan posed a threat to his life.Earlier on Sunday, Afzal’s claim had been rejected by the Hazara division commissioner and district police office and an FIR had been registered against four people, including Afzal. They have been charged with misleading people.