It seems that Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is in the eye of the storm. One after another, some issues cropped up for his government that is already under tremendous pressure over peace talks with the Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP).
As if law and order was not enough, situation in Sindh and Balochistan provinces is getting menacingly worrisome for Sharif.
Sindh is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic province. Unfortunately, the interior parts of this beautiful province are still governed by centuries-old rotten traditions. In those areas, tribal customs take precedence over Islamic teachings.
The tribal chieftains still cling to dirty tactics to control their tribes. A tribal chief simultaneously plays the role of a judge and an executioner and takes an arrogant pride in killing women in the name of honor.
A latest incident of cruelty has sent shockwaves across the country. Two young women Shahnawaz aka Shani and Reema belonging to the Mehr tribe were executed for marrying men of their choice. A local jirga — centuries-old system of courts of community leaders — reportedly sentenced them to death.
It is indeed sad that in today’s world a parallel judicial system exists in Pakistan. The so-called court reportedly refused to accept the ill-fated girls’ pleas that they had married according to Shariah. The jirga was presided over by no less a person than a seasoned parliamentarian and several times government minister, Ghous Bux Mehar, who ruled them as “kari” (sinner) under the contemptuous system of “karo-kari” under which any person can be declared a sinner and executed in a total disregard for the law of the land.
However, in such cases womenfolk are blamed and dealt with an iron fist. Keeping the discriminatory practice alive, the men involved in this case were set free after imposing fines on them and their driver who had helped them allegedly “kidnap” the women. In this case, the participation of a parliamentarian has made things even worse. Civil society and various governments have made several attempts in the past to do away with this uncivilized, illegal and un-Islamic system but failed to produce the desired results for a number of reasons. It is still in vogue in rural Sindh, where tribal leaders consider themselves as masters of the destinies of the tribesmen and treat them like slaves.
In Balochistan, which has borders with Iran and Afghanistan, the PML(N) ministers in the coalition government of a minority party Chief Minister Dr. Abdul Malik have rebelled and threatened to resign. The group leader, Sanaullah Zehri, of PML-N has refused to cooperate with the chief minister who visited the former’s house. The situation is serious and may go out of hands if Sharif fails to take personal interest. The coalition may crumble causing a political crisis in a province where calls for separation are already reverberating for the past many years.
