Adil Najam
This is a VERY DISTURBING video. Please view at your own discretion.
It is important, however, that we speak about and shout out about this video.
It shows a 17-year old girl being flogged by a Taliban leader of some sort in a perverted form of justice. Reportedly the incident happened in Kalakalay, Swat around 3 months ago (before the supposed peace deal with the government). The girl is being ‘punished’ for going somewhere without a male relative. Supposedly, the male companion was also flogged.
This video is also be discussed vigorously at Pakistaniat’s new Facebook page. Some of that disussion does not carry over here, although we hope it ultimately will.
In more recent developments, supposedly Sufi Mohammad in Swat has condemned the act and said this was not Baitullah’s Taliban. More importantly, the recent reinstated Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has taken su moto notice of this incident. According to The News
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry Friday took a suo motu notice of the media footage in which a 17 year old girl is being whipped out in the broad daylight in Swat. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhdy ordered the matter to be presented before a larger bench on April 6. He also summoned Secretary Interior, IG and Chief Secretary on April 6. He ordered formation of 8-member larger bench to be headed by himself.
This is a story that all Pakistanis and all Muslims must speak about and speak against. There are those who will try to make this a story about what Pakistan or Islam is. Such bigoted approaches are to be resisted. This is not a story about what Pakistan is. This is clearly not about what Islam is. This is a story about what the enemies of Islam and enemies of Pakistan are doing. This is a story about what Pakistan must not allowed to become. The bad news is obvious in the video itself. The bad news is about the criminality being conducted in the name of religion. The good news is that the media, the judiciary and ordinary Pakistanis ARE speaking up and speaking out. We must do more so. For if we do not speak out against this criminality, who will?
Answerable to Allah or Mullah????
@Anon:
“It does not matter what any person or entity says or thinks. You are only answerable to Allah. Peace!”
If Anon you believe in what you have written, then why you and people like you are not asking to at least publish the trial of Kalama-Tayyabah reciter in Pakistan national Assembly in 1974???
I don’t think Pakistanis have enough courage to demand from
Pakistan Government to conduct RE-TRIAL of reciters of Kalima Tayyabah in an open court of law, for example in Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s court!!!!!
Eidee says
“the only entity who can do something here is the government, and they need to hit back, and hit HARD.”
What will happen then? These animals will become victims again. Remember Lal masjid episode. Our pundits on Urdu media will again show that we are killing our own people and leaders like “Imran Khan” and Qazi will come out again loudly for defending those people.
I think best strategy to let Taliban to rule Swat for few more months. Record all their wrong doing by hidden cameras and show it in media. We first need to win hears and minds of pakistani majority which think that Taliban or Saudia Arabia kind of justice system has some merits and we are fighting some one else war. Once everyone is sick of Taliban and their patehtic supporter like Imran or Hamid Mir; then Army will go out in full force and will exterminate these ppl out of exitenz.
I usually try not to comment on my own post (since I have already made my case in the post), but since I have done so at our Facebook page (where the content as well as discussion is somewhat different), I thought I should raise the same point here.
One cannot rule out the possibility that this video is a propaganda stunt – maybe its not from Swat, or maybe its from much earlier, maybe from when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan. That is why we used careful language in the original post.
My question to those making this point is: “Given that this may be the case, what if it is not? Just in case it turns out that this happened, either in Swat now or somewhere else at any other point, would you condemn what is happening as wrong IF it were real?”
If not, then there is something terribly, terribly wrong with all of us.
Dear friends, let me urge those of you in Lahore and Karachi to join the peace rallies being organized their Saturday to raise our voices against terrorism and violence of all kind.
Our friend and contributor Raza Rumi writes at Pak Tea House that:
I urge those who can to please join this noble cause and let our voices be heard against all violence, everywhere, by anyone.
There is nothing to discuss; you discuss issues which are complex and have multiple viewpoints, perspectives, etc. This is dead WRONG; it really doesn’t get more cut and dried than this. Us debating this problem will accomplish nothing; the only entity who can do something here is the government, and they need to hit back, and hit HARD.