PAKISTANI authorities have ordered an investigation after a video showed a man flogging a screaming woman in the country's north-west, where the government recently agreed to introduce Islamic law to end a rebellion by Taleban militants.
The deal, with a hard-line cleric, sparked criticism from activists who are worried that extremists will violate basic human rights, especially those of women. The video, which emerged yesterday, has brought further criticism.
Sherry Rehman, a
former information minister and senior ruling party member, called for the men who participated in the public flogging, in the Swat Valley, to be punished, saying they had "crossed a red line" and violated the country's constitution.
"Non-state actors have taken law and justice into their hands in a whole area with the force of their guns," she said. "They want to enforce a Taleban-style system in the area, and we will not let it happen in Pakistan."
Regional government officials and those involved in the peace deal said the video, widely shown on local television, was part of a conspiracy to sabotage the agreement.
"It is an old incident, and it happened before the peace agreement," said Syed Mohammad Javed, the top government administrator for Swat and surrounding areas. "There are some elements who want to sabotage this agreement."
The two-minute video shows a woman in a body-covering burqa face down on the ground with two men holding her arms and feet. A third man in a black turban with a long beard whips her backside repeatedly, causing her to scream and shout "Stop it, stop it! It is painful!"
A crowd of men watches silently in the background, and a voice can be heard saying: "Hold her hands tightly."
It was not clear when the incident took place or who carried it out.
A local Taleban spokesman, Muslim Khan, said the militant group publicly flogged a woman in Swat nine months ago over allegations that she had an illicit relationship with her father-in-law with whom she was living, but he was not sure if the video showed that incident.
Mian Iftikhar Hussein, the information minister for the province that includes Swat, said the incident occurred on 3 January, but gave no other details. He condemned the flogging and called for those who were involved to be punished.
Khan defended the punishment, although he said it should not have been done in public and should have been carried out by a boy who had not reached puberty.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the incident and ordered an investigation. He said his government remained committed to reconciliation in Swat but would send in the military if its authority was challenged – raising questions about the peace deal's durability.
Militants have defied a 12-month military operation in Swat, essentially setting up their own parallel administration in the lush region that once attracted legions of tourists.
President Asif Ali Zardari has yet to sign the bill introducing Sharia law in the valley.
European and US officials have criticised Pakistan for striking peace deals with militants, fearing that they provide safe havens for extremists launching cross-border attacks on Nato troops in Afghanistan.
Militants in Pakistan have stepped up attacks on the supply lines that international forces use to get goods into Afghanistan. On Friday, militants using guns and petrol bombs attacked a supplies depot in north-west Pakistan, damaging five shipping containers, police said.
International troops in Afghanistan transport up to 75 per cent of their supplies through Pakistan, but frequent attacks have forced the US military to explore other routes.
