Pakistan at War: Video of Girl Flogged by Taliban in Swat. Chief Justice Takes Suo Moto Notice

Posted on April 3, 2009
Filed Under >Adil Najam, Law & Justice, Society
253 Comments
Total Views: 84723

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?

253 responses to “Pakistan at War: Video of Girl Flogged by Taliban in Swat. Chief Justice Takes Suo Moto Notice”

  1. Babar says:

    @Akbar

    Well taliban accepted this as well. So he was a Pakistani Vietnamese :D
    http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-l ibrary/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/baitullah-say s-his-men-responsible-for-attack

    This all is just too weird.

  2. faisal says:

    Disgusting act, but people of Swat wanted this, they fought brutal war against kafir Pakistani army where they slit soldiers throats and all that to WIN sharia imposition.

    I don’t think people of Swat are unhappy so why the rest of Pakistan should feel bad about this? They wanted this and they got it. Time to rejoice and be proud for them.

  3. WORLD CITIZEN says:

    THE VIOLENCE WILL CONTINUE SADLY IN THE NAME OF ISLAM, WHICH IS SUPPOSEDLY A PEACEFUL RELIGION.

    IT IS BECAUSE OF THE DOGMATIC ATTITUDE THAT ONLY MY INTERPRETATION IS CORRECT AND YOURS – WRONG; FURTHER MORE I HAVE THE HOLY RIGHT TO DESTROY YOU FOR THE SAME.

    WHY PEOPLE CAN NOT BE EDUCATED SO THAT THEY ARE EMPOWERED TO INTERPRET AND ALLOWED TO LIVE THEIR LIVES ACCORDINGLY?

  4. pejamistri says:

    I don’t know how muslim world existed before 1977 , I don’t know how muslim countries other than Pakistan, Afghanistan, KSA and few others , exist now. Since I was born in 70’s , got my school, college education in 80’s and 90’s , here is how my brain had been hard-wired to believe in the following:
    1. All the girls who shake hands with “na-mahrem” are “be-haya” and “be-sharam”… I live in Europe , my wife usually will shake hands with “na-mahrems” , although I won’t have any objections to her but somewhere in my mind I’ll have this “be-haya” and “be-sharam” thingee , I remember when I was 15-16 year old , most of my elders one generation above will talk about how General Zia’s wife might have shook hands with American President…. and they would condemn him of being hypocrite because he preached Islam, but his wife “will shake hands with ‘na-mahrem’ ” which is against Islam.
    2. I am programmed to believe that all girls/women who wear half-sleeves shirts with jeans and do not take “do-patta” are shameless creatures… when I was in university in Pakistan it was in fact considered “OK” to tease (sorry for bad translation the urdu word we used was “chaiRna”) them, since there was a question mark on such girl’s character.
    3. Even though spending a whole decade in West and working with “Kuffar” , every time I shake hand with a lady , I am hesitant somewhere in my mind or heart.
    4. During my teens I was always told and taught by my elders “Islam is the way of life” , Saudi is still considered by my parents and my elders (one generation above me) as the heaven on earth. But when I went to Saudi to work there few years back I ran from there with my family when someone told me “if Matuawwa found that my wife is going alone with a na-mahrem, they would hand out lashes to my wife. I was also told that if a women is raped by a rapist usually both rapists and women will be meted out punishment as it would be very hard for the women to prove that she was not willing partner in the rap. Remember punishment could be anything from lashes to “stone to death”….
    5. Few years back in 90’s , BB (Benazir) once talked about “barbaric” punishments , there was big hue and cry about them. I also felt disgusted that how BB can describe “Islamic” punishments as “barbaric” , the religion that is “complete way of life”…
    6. I know why I am finding it hard like many others to say that handing out lashes to a young girl is “barbaric” however just like I have an internal hesitance when shaking hands with a lady but I still do, I would condemn this act as barbaric and inhuman and consider it unislamic and against the teachings of Islam, but I do believe in “Second Aya” of “Sura Noor” , I do believe in Quran and Islam as Complete way of life … but I would say this act was un-islamic.

    Let me quote the most liberal of “Islamic scholars” who is considered by many other of his compatriots as “kafir”, however you would understand my dilemma when even the most “liberal” scholar of Islam find it hard to “condemn” this act.
    It is the ninth letter to “Tahira”
    http://www.tolueislam.com/Urdu/tkn/tkn.htm

    about “Parda kay mutalliq” , I shall try to translate it in English.
    At page 116 in “Tahira kay naam khatoot” , Mr. Ghulam Ahmed Pervez states that:

    As a side note , in the verse of Sura Noor describe above, needs some explanation which will be beneficial. Few days back a non-muslim member of the assembly objected that you want to implement a Quranic system in which punishment for fornication is 100 lashes. On this our apologist muslim members were so embarrassed that if it were in their control they would have thrown out (maazallah ) the verse about this “BARBARIC” punishment from Quran. And then have told the critics triumphantly that they were things of past , in the new edition of Quran there is no such verse of the dark ages. But this was not possible for these poor souls , therefore they came up with the excuse that Quran has put the condition of 4 witness who saw the crime with their own eyes and since nobody even does a lawful sexual act in front of any body let alone an unlawful act. So therefore the crime of fornication can never be proved against anyone therefore there won’t any “barbaric” punishment for them. With this logic our muslim members were very happy that they have saved Quran from a big objection.

    Please excuse my bad translation.

    Our the last couple of day I have several blogs , watched a lot of tv talk shows , listened to the scholars and I feel sorry for Adil Najam who said

    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.

    Because for some enemies of Islam are the “Taliban” who meted out punishment to the poor girl and for others enemies of Islam are the one who “released” this video and using this video to prove Islam as “Barbaric” religion :)….
    Would Adil Najam help me which enemies of Islam he is talking about?

  5. Adnan Siddiqi says:

    Any protest for this poor chap? Or he would be ignored because he is a “Man” and usually we are so “soft” with our ladies that we even do not mention that that there was no video published of the guy who was also flogged along with the girl. *grin*

    http://tinyurl.com/pakistanius

    It would be interesting to see that whether Adil Najam and Co finds it “disturbing” and register their protest against it on the blog and on other places.

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