ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa officials failed to produce the Kohistani girls at the centre of the video scandal case before the Supreme Court on Thursday. The girls were sentenced to death by a jirga along with two men.
During Thursday’s proceedings, the Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa informed the court that three helicopters had been sent to bring the girls to the Supreme Court however contact had been lost with the helicopters.
Justice Jawwad Khawaja raised objection to this point and remarked that in this day and age communication was possible in every corner of the world. Meanwhile MNA Kashmala Tariq who was also present during proceedings questioned why a satellite phone was not sent.
Speaking to reporters outside the Supreme Court, the brother of the two accused men, Afzal Khan maintained that the girls had been killed on the orders of tribal elders. Afzal Khan added that if the girls were alive why were they not presented before the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, human rights activist, Farzana Bari who is in Kohistan said that there was evidence of all five girls being alive and that she had met with two of them. Bari added that the girls could not be presented before the Supreme Court on Thursday
A Jirga in the village of Palas, Kohistan, had convicted six people for clapping and singing after a videotape of them was circulated. A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhamamd Chaudhry, heard a suo moto case regarding the video scandal and death decree issued to six people by some clerics of Kohistan.
Four girls and two men were allegedly caught on video singing and dancing together at a wedding party in defiance of tribal customs in Kohistan.