Update: The father of the girl who was killed at the hands of brothers and father on the order of Jirga is arrested by the police. However, the picture came out to be edited in the initial report released by the police. Pictures of two girls went viral through the Facebook ID of Aman Deedar where the girls were photoshopped with Aman Deedar and Rehmat Shah, the two boys who are now hiding.

Moreover, the other girl was allowed to go back with her parents on a guarantee of 30 lac rupees by the local Palas court.

A girl from Kolai Palas, Kohistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa got killed on orders of a local Jirga after her pictures with boys went viral. The pictures of two girls posing with boys went viral on social media after which family members in the jirga decided to kill her, says the police.

The other girl was brought to the court to ensure her safety where she stated before the judge that she does not have any threat from her family. Therefore, she was allowed to go back. Meanwhile, the boys seen in the photos are still in hiding, fearing possible outrage. Local police told Dawn that as per tradition, the jirga declared that those who appeared in the images circulating on social media ‘chor’ (thieves) and issued a decree for their killing.

Deputy Superintendant Police (DSP) Masood Khan said the victim’s body had been moved from the crime scene to a nearby health facility for autopsy. He added that videos and photos, which were apparently edited, went viral on social media three to four days ago. An FIR has been registered on the complaint of local SHO as the victim’s family did not approach the police. The culprits who issued the assassination decree and those who executed it will be brought to justice, the police official said.

Court instead of sending other girl to shelter home allowed her with parents. Boys still in hiding to save their lives. Murder was decided in a decree by jirga. CM KP takes notice@SdqJaan @kohistan_times @hrw @UNHumanRights #WomensRights #women #woman https://t.co/OrUhEQWMVe

— 𝑴𝒖𝒎𝒕𝒂𝒛 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒔𝒉 (@BangashMumtaz) November 27, 2023

Sections 109 (abetment in crime), 302 (punishment of qatl-i-amd or premeditated murder) and 311 (punishment after the waiver of qisas) of the Pakistan Penal Code have been added in the FIR.

A similar incident had been reported a decade ago where five women cheering for a dancing boy in the video were allegedly killed, along with the boy’s four brothers, on the orders of a local jirga. The alleged killings captured international attention, and then-Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry took suo motu notice of the incident.