Swat, Pakistan: Friday afternoon display of a video by a major news channel, from Swat, a scenic valley located just 160 km from Islamabad, in which a young girl is punished publically with lashes brought a wave of anger and condemnation all over Pakistan. Allegedly this girl was accused of being unfaithful to her husband.
All the major political parties, religious groups, human rights bodies expressed their anguish over the cruelty. Taliban spokeperson, Muslim Khan, was not sure of the nature of exact crime and came up with a few contradictory statements on the issue.
It should be kept in mind that these floggings are permitted in Islam but a due course of justice is to be served in decreeing such a punishment. A prior set up of a proper Shariat court (Qazi) is a necessity plus a few other pre-requisites. The way the whole punishment was dealt raised too many questions.
The way the girl was held by two men aggravated the rage among common people. This was no way near to the concept of respecting women’s dignity. Sources reveal that this is not an isolated incident in swat. Similar floggings have been taking place since two years in the valley. Drug addicts are also routinely flogged whenever they are caught using narcotics.
A local resident commented "We would be very happy if justice is served to all but majority of Talibans are above the law for their unlawful actions"