India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

A tribal assembly in a remote village of Pakistan's Hazara division has sentenced four women and two men to death for 'staining the honour' of their families. The "accused" were allegedly caught on videotape singing and dancing together at a wedding ceremony in violation of the "tribal custom of gender segregation", reports The Express Tribune. The women have been called back from their in-laws and are being starved and tied up in a room at Seertaiy village in Kohistan district. The men have, however, managed to flee. "A tribal assembly has declared them fornicators, and they might be killed any time," said Muhammad Afzal, elder brother of the two men condemned to death. A guest at the wedding ceremony, which took place two months ago, had caught the women and men singing and dancing, on a mobile phone, which was later sent to the women's families. The tribe to which the women belong were angered by the video, following which they called an assembly where the women and men were held guilty of violating tribal and Islamic norms by singing and dancing together. However, Afzal voiced doubts about the authenticity of the video and accused his foes of forging it to humiliate his family. District police officer Abdul Majeed Afridi said, "I've spoken to the tribal elders and I'll utilise all resources available to stop these executions," adding that he has already sent a police party to the village to recover the women.

Four women, two men face death for singing, dancing at Pak wedding