Panchayat Marries Off 8-Year-Old Girl In Revenge For Brother's Crime In Dera Ismail Khan

(MENAFN- Tribal News Network) In a deeply disturbing incident in the Talokar area of Dera Ismail Khan, a local panchayat (village council) forced the eight-year-old sister of an accused rapist to marry the 12-year-old boy he allegedly assaulted, as a form of "justice."
According to a report registered at Gomal University Police Station by SHO Asghar Khan under Sections 310-A, 376, and 53 of the Pakistan Penal Code, two suspects had drugged and sexually assaulted the minor boy 9 to 10 days earlier.

In response, a jirga comprising four local elders-Amanullah (son of Allah Diywaya), Allah Diywaya (son of Ahmed), Zakariya (son of Amin), and Hashim (son of Abdul Rehman), all residents of Taluqar-met on Thursday at Amanullah's hujra (guesthouse) to settle the matter.

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In a shocking decision, the jirga resolved that Rizwan's eight-year-old sister, Maqaddas Bibi, be handed over in "wani" (a tribal custom in which girls are married off to settle disputes) to the victim, Kashif. The so-called marriage was solemnized by Maulvi Rehmatullah (son of Azam), a local imam from the Talokar mosque.
Sources confirmed that the police have registered a case not only against the four panchayat members but also against the cleric who conducted the unlawful nikah. Investigations are ongoing, and authorities say further arrests are expected.

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