LAHORE - The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has condemned the brutal killing of a 16-year old girl following a jirga’s decision to punish her for her supposed role in helping a couple.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Commission said: “It is impossible to not be astounded by the brutality and ruthlessness of those who ordered and oversaw the callous mowing down of a young person in Donga Gali, in order to satisfy their notions of cultural proprietary. The criminal actions of the jirga must be condemned unreservedly by all those who stand for rule of law and the right to life itself. “The arrest of the Jirga members in itself should be no ground for self-praise and HRCP certainly is not in the habit of praising anyone for doing what was their mandated duty.

“Nothing that the authorities do now can bring back the young victim, but they should at least now atone for their inaction by seeing to it that justice is done in this case and conditions that allow such incidents to take place are confronted.”