SC orders production of girls, tribal elders in Dera Bugti Vani case

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the girls and the tribal elders involved in the Dera Bugti Vani incident be presented before it and the case be thoroughly investigated.
The court gave the ruling during the hearing in the suo motu notice case about a jirga which was reportedly held in Dera Bugti district’s Bakar area and had decided that 13 girls be married under the custom of ‘Vani’ to resolve a feud between two groups of the Masuri tribe.
A three-judge bench comprising the chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja was hearing the case at the apex court’s Quetta registry.
Earlier during the hearing, Justice Khawaja remarked that until all those involved in the incident did not appear before the bench, the matter would not resolve.
Justice Khawaja moreover stated that no one should be made a victim of harassment.
Addressing Sarfaraz Bugti, a cousin of MPA Mir Tariq Masuri who allegedly chaired the jirga, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said that if he had any evidence to prove his allegation that the jirga that had decided on the Vani had taken place, he should furnish it before the bench.
Bugti said the incident had happened a month ago and that MPA Masuri was an influential man.He moreover said that he could also name the tribal elders who were present at the jirga.
However, Advocate General Balochistan Amanullah Kinrani said there was no information that any such incident had taken place.
The advocate general requested the bench to quash the case, adding that, there was no evidence available.
Subsequently, the bench ruled that the girls and the tribal elders in question be presented before it and the case be thoroughly investigated. The bench adjourned the hearing to Nov 9.