Kohistan video case: SC gives investigators 4 weeks to conclude probe

Published November 7, 2018
The Supreme Court has given the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa additional advocate general four weeks to conclude the investigation into the 2012 killing of four girls and two boys in Kohistan after a video showing them dancing at a wedding surfaced on social media. ─ Reuters/File
The Supreme Court has given the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa additional advocate general four weeks to conclude the investigation into the 2012 killing of four girls and two boys in Kohistan after a video showing them dancing at a wedding surfaced on social media. ─ Reuters/File

The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa additional advocate general four weeks to complete the investigation into the 2012 killing of four girls and two boys from Kohistan.

The Kohistan video scandal made headlines in 2012 when the boys and girls were killed by members of their tribe after a mobile phone video of them dancing at a wedding in a remote village in Kohistan emerged on social media.

Mohammad Afzal Kohistani, a brother of the boys seen in the video who were killed allegedly by members of their tribe, had earlier demanded the authorities to protect his brothers.

The apex court had taken suo motu notice of the Kohistan video case in 2012 since reports emerged that clerics had allegedly issued orders for the killing of the boys and girls in the video.

In today's hearing, the provincial additional advocate general told the court that the KP forensic lab had failed to identify the girls seen in the video.

Upon hearing this, Justice Ijazul Ahsan pointed out that the court had earlier ordered that the video be sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) for testing as "they have better devices".

The additional advocate general said that the video was not sent to the PFSA. He further told the court that investigating the case was proving to be difficult as the town in question is at a six-hour distance, and while people of the area have been previously questioned, they need to be asked some more questions.

During the hearing, Justice Ahsan also mentioned that two members of the forensic board had agreed that the girls in the video were the same as the ones that had been killed, while one member had said otherwise.

The additional advocate general requested the court that the investigation team be given two months to complete their work. The court adjourned the hearing while granting the investigation team a month to wrap up its probe.

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