Jirga gives minor girl in wedding to settle dispute

SUKKUR, June 4: A jirga held in Din Mohammad Kosh village near Kashmore on Tuesday evening decided to give a 10-year old girl in marriage to settle a dispute over an old karo-kari incident.

Reports reaching here said that the jirga gave the verdict to settle a 10-year-old karo-kari dispute between two groups of Kosh community. The dispute started after Rafiq Ahmed and Taj Bibi, wife of Mohammad Ibrahim, were declared karo-kari and Taj Bibi was killed but Rafiq Ahmed ran away to save his life.

The jirga declared Rafiq Ahmed Kosh as karo and asked his family to give a girl in marriage to Mohammad Ibrahim. Upon this, Nazir Ahmed Kosh, Rafiq’s elder brother, consented to marry his daughter Nasima, 10, with Mohammad Ibrahim.

Sources in the village said that after hearing about the jirga verdict, Nasima fled her home and took refuge at the house of her maternal uncle, Mohammad Nawaz Kosh, who had decided to move court against the jirga decision.

PROTEST: Scores of people staged a demonstration and a sit-in at Mirpur Mathelo bypass on Wednesday in protest against the kidnapping of an employee of Fauji Fertiliser Company.

Reports said that dacoits kidnapped Tariq Aziz Sial of Kousar Colony near the bypass when he was going to FFC late on Tuesday night. In the morning, scores of people staged a demonstration and a sit-in at the bypass for an hour.

They ended the protest after SPO of Mirpur Mathelo assured them that the hostage would be recovered within two days.

CASE REGISTERED: Sukkur police registered a case on Wednesday against 16 people on charges of kidnapping a doctor and his wife from Islam Colony, New Pind.

A group of armed men raided the house of Dr. Jawed Soomro, overpowered the inmates at gunpoint and took him away Dr Soomro and his wife, Sumaiya, early on Tuesday morning.

Allah Wadhayo Soomro, Dr Soomro’s father, said in the FIR lodged at B-Section police station that the 16 accused belonged to Jatoi tribe.

He told police that the kidnapping was an offshoot of Dr Soomro’s nephew, Mohammad Ismail and Saira Jatoi’s marriage of their won free will a year ago. The marriage sowed seeds of enmity between the two families, he said.

Police have not yet made any arrest or recovered any hostage till the filing of this report.
Source: Dawn
Date:6/5/2008