Kohistan region social media case: Another relative arrested for girl’s killing

MANSEHRA: The Kohistan region police on Monday held a man who had allegedly killed his niece after her video surfaced on social media last week.

District Police Officer (DPO) of Kolai-Palas Mukhtar Khan Tanoli told reporters that a team led by him raided the mountainous Barsharyal village and arrested Mohammad Nawaz. He was produced before a local court, he said.

“We have already arrested the father of the slain girl and now her uncle was also arrested. We produced him before a local court and obtained his four-day physical remand,” Tanoli said. 

He said the police and Cybercrime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency were pursuing the case to arrest those who uploaded video of the slain girl.

“The video was made of photos of two girls and as many boys and was uploaded on social media,” Tanoli said. The DPO said one of the two girls seen in the video was rescued by the police and produced before the local magistrate who sent her with her family after she ruled out a threat to her life.

The first information report of the incident was lodged by the SHO of Palas Police Station Noor Mohammad Khan under sections 302/311 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code against the father and uncle of the slain girl.

Meanwhile, the National Commission on the Status of Women, which is chaired by Nilofar Bukhtar, took notice of the girl’s killing jirga. In an official communiqué addressed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Khan, the commission condemned the killing and demanded strict action against the accused.