SC orders DC Dera Bugti to produce 13 wani girls

0
162

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Wednesday heard suo moto notice of declaring 13 girls as wani by a jirga in Balochistan’s Dera Bugti area, ordering authorities to produce the affectees from remote area of the province.
Wani is a child marriage custom in tribal areas of Pakistan.
Reports said a jirga in Dera Bugti decided to give away 13 girls in marriage to settle a murder-related conflict between two tribes last month, prompting Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to take suo moto notice of the incident.
The CJP had issued orders to MPA Mir Tariq Masuri, who allegedly chaired the jirga, and all members of the tribal jirga to appear before the jury in Supreme Court’s Quetta registry on Wednesday.
Masuri turned up today and denied that no such incident had taken place. He said he was in Multan and came from there after hearing the news on media about the court’s suo moto.
“It is just propaganda to hurt my uncle’s political credibility in the area,” the MPA claimed.
To which the CJP said the issue could not be resolved unless all related facts emerge.
Deputy Commissioner Dera Bugti held out assurance to the court that all people involved were being traced out and would be produced in the court.
Three-member bench, comprising Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Jawad S.Khwaja heard the case.