Video shows militants stoning woman in Orakzai Agency

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) Turbanead men in Orakzai Agency gather around a woman with a black hood over her head, pick up large rocks and repeatedly throw them at her until she lies motionless, stretched along the ground. The stoning was apparently carried out by Taliban militants, incensed because she was seen out with a man. It was shown in a video obtained by a Dubai television station. Al Aan television, which focuses on womens issues in the Arab world, said it obtained the tape from its sources and that it took place in Orakzai Agency in the northwest. It said it had other footage of a man who was executed by shooting, possibly the one the woman was seen with.It was not possible to verify its authenticity or when it was filmed. Such videos arent unique. Last year Pakistanis were outraged after footage widely aired on television showed militants in Swat Valley publicly flogging a teenage girl accused of having an affair. The government had virtually ceded control of Swat to militants under a deal to end fighting there and some Pakistanis, disillusioned with a police and judiciary, initially welcomed the Taliban in the former tourist resort. That video greatly undermined any public support the Taliban had in Pakistan, and this one, with its stark brutality, could further sour public opinion against the al Qaeda-linked Taliban fighters waging a campaign of suicide bombings which have killed civilians, police, security forces and soldiers.

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