10 Jirga members held in vani case

MANSEHRA: The police in Oghi have arrested 10 jirga members, including a cleric, who declared two girls as vani and solemnised their nikah forcibly in Mulhar village Sunday night.

“We have booked 14 jirga members and arrested 10 of them who, after declaring two girls as vani, performed their nikah forcibly in an honour-related affair,” Wajid Ali, Station House Officer of Oghi Police Station, told reporters on Monday. Wajid Ali said that on a tip-off, he along with a police party raided the jirga in Mulhar and arrested 10 jirga members. They were then produced before a local judge.

The official said the people of Rahmkot had illegally confined one Mohammad Naeem when he had gone to meet a local girl in their village Sunday night. He said the girl was already engaged with a local resident named Mohammad Nazir. The jirga decreed that Naeem would be married off to the girl while Nazir’s sister would be married into the other family.

“On the decree of the jirga, the nikah of both girls was solemnised with Mohammad Naeem and Mohammad Nazir, respectively, without their consent,” said Ali. The Oghi SHO said the police after lodging first information report arrested 10 jirga members. Raids were being conducted to arrest of others who were part of the unlawful jirga.

He said that those arrested include Qari Imranullah, who solemnised wedlock of both the girls separately, Maqboolur Rehman, the father of one of the girls, Mohammad Ijaz, Shahnawaz, Shabir Ahmad, Mohammad Sadeer, Abdul Aziz, Abdul Kareem, Mohammad Shafique and Ali Rehman.

The official said the entire episode was completed at night so that nobody could bring the issue to the limelight. “We recovered Naeem from the illegal confinement of the jirga and let him to go and lodged FIR against those involved in the unlawful activity,” he said.

The vani is an old custom in where women or minor girls are given to rival parties in marriage to resolve honour-related disputes.