WANA: Police in South Waziristan has arrested an accused trying to forcibly marry a girl under the so-called tradition of Ghag.
Ghag is a practice which is still alive in some backward areas if merged districts in which a man resorts to aerial firing with an announcement that a particular girl must be considered his fiancé as he would not allow anyone else to marry her.
Station House Officer (SHO) of Sra Rogha Police Station Abdul Shakoor Mehsud led police action to arrest the accused of Ghag on a girl. The accused was identified as Imdadullah Mehsud. He was shifted to lock-up and a case was registered against him.
In May, South Waziristan Police arrested two accused involved in Ghag from Raghzai area of Birmal tehsil. Police said the two accused had announced Ghag on unmarried girls.
Police said there is no space for such practices of merger of erstwhile Fata with KP. It said people involved in such practices will have to face the law.
In December last year, Police in South Waziristan filed the first case related to Ghag in merged districts.
According to the first information report (FIR), the accused, Umar, went to the house of a girl and resorted to aerial firing with a warning that he would kill all her family members if she did not marry him. The FIR was lodged by the girl’s father.
This ugly practice of Ghag is mostly criticised in Pakhtun society as it comes with the use of force and the girl’s will for marriage is never considered. Such practice is adopted by some misguided men against girls from weaker families. However, the mare announcement by a man of virtually putting ‘embargo’ on a girl to marry him or no one else doesn’t work always.
This practice existed in different forms in merged districts. Sometimes, it also happens that when a girl is born she is immediately named after a boy at home no matter how young the boy is. Sometimes, one brother tells another that they would ‘engage’ their children as soon as they are born. They do not even know whether a son or daughter will be born and make such decisions out of excitement. Such rituals are not allowed in Islam, nor any law in the world. Mostly, when such children grow up, they reject the decision of their so-called childhood engagement.