MANSEHRA: A man facing a ‘jirga-decreed’ death penalty on Tuesday sought police help to protect his and his brother’s life.

“The death squad nominated by a Kohistan jirga, which has so far eliminated nine people, including my four brothers, and five girls after a video clip went viral on social media in 2012, showing girls cheering boys for dancing, is now chasing me and my brother, Gul Nazar,” Bin Yaseer told reporters here.

He said he had met Kolai-Palas district police officer Mukhtar Khan and demanded of him to enhance his and his brother’s security, and he had assured him of meeting his demand.

“Since the Peshawar High Court’s Abbottabad Circuit Bench set aside the life imprisonment of three persons over the killing of five girls, last Wednesday, we are getting serious life threats,” Mr Yaseer said.

District and Sessions Judge, Kolai-Palas, Safiullah Jan had convicted three persons, Umar Khan, Saheer and Sabeer, in September 2019 after they were arrested by the police on the Supreme Court’s orders for killing five girls.

Says nine people have already been killed after the infamous 2012 video scandal

The three had challenged their life term in the high court’s Abbottabad circuit bench, which set aside the sessions court verdict on Wednesday last.

Mr Yaseer said initially as many as 13 police personnel were deputed for their security, but the number had been reduced to only four. He said the jirga-nominated death squad had killed his brothers, Gul Wali and Sher Nazir in 2013, and Afzal Kohistani in 2019.

“The death squad has executed nine people on the orders of jirga, which had declared all of them Chor (perverted), and they are now after us,” Mr Yaseer said.

He said the jirga led by a local prayer leader had also declared him Chor as he made the video of the event, in which his brother, Gul Nazar was being cheered by girls on his dancing.

HOUSE GUTTED: A house was gutted in Ghanool Bhatian area of Balakot on Tuesday.

The fire apparently erupted because of electric short-circuiting.

The locals rushed to the spot and put out the blaze by throwing sand and water on it.

House owner, Mohammad Tufail, told reporters that gold jewellery, cash and other household goods were reduced to ashes. He said as his house was located on a mountain far away from the Balakot town so fire tenders couldn’t reach there.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2023