Girls & gold save four from gallows

Dawn ^ | 13 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1423 | By Our Correspondent

[Lessismore]

MIANWALI, July 23: Four murder convicts managed to save themselves from the gallows after agreeing to pay Rs8 million and eight girls of their family as "compensation" to the aggrieved party.

The deal was struck at Abbakhel, 12 kilometres from here, on Tuesday in a mammoth gathering of religious scholars, notables of the district, politicians, and the public.

Sardar Khan, Muhammad Akram Khan, Muhammad Ashraf Khan and Asmatullah Khan were awarded death sentence in a double-murder by the district and sessions judge, Mianwali, in 1988.

After the rejection of their appeals by the superior courts and the president, the convicts and their relatives sought the help of influential people. They approached the Nawab of Kalabagh who yielded considerable influence on the aggrieved camp. The latter demanded Rs12 million in compensation and 20 young girls as per the local tradition called Vani.

But, with the efforts of Malik Asad Khan of Kalabagh, Obaidullah Khan Shadikhel, former MNA, Malik Taj Muhammad Kund, former MPA, Amirabdullah Khan Punnkhel, Mazhar Qayyum of Piplan, Qazi Zafar Hussain, and Sajada Nasheen of Chakrala, the aggrieved party brought down its demand to Rs8 million and eight unmarried young girls. One of the girls, who is 18, will be married to an 80-year- old man.

[Lessismore]

Pakistan -- our wonderful ally! (Although home to a few quaint customs)

[Rollee]

They are pigs and dogs. Subhuman. Do you think this article will be in the NYT or on Tom Blowkaw's, Dan Blather's or Peter Jerko's newscasts at all?

[Tennessee_Bob]

Song: Gallows Pole
Artist: Led Zeppelin

Hangman, hangman, hold it a little while,
I think I see my friends coming,
Ridin' many mile.
Friends, did you get some silver?
Did you get a little gold?
What did you bring me, my dear friends,
To keep me from the Gallows Pole?
What did you bring me to keep me from the Gallows Pole?
I couldn't get no silver, I couldn't get no gold,
You know that we're too damn poor
To keep you from the Gallows Pole.
Hangman, hangman, hold it a little while,
I think I see my brother coming,
Ridin' many mile.
Brother, did you get me some silver?
Did you get a little gold?
What did you bring me, my brother,
To keep me from the Gallows Pole?
Brother, I brought you some silver,
I brought a little gold,
I brought a little of ev'ry thing
To keep you from the Gallows Pole.
Yes, I brought you to keep you from the Gallows Pole.
Hangman, hangman, turn your head awhile,
I think I see my sister coming,
Riding' many mile, mile, mile.
Sister, I implore you, take him by the hand,
Take him to some shady bower,
Save me from the wrath of this man,
Please take him,
Save me from the wrath of this man, man.
Hangman, hangman, upon your face a smile,
Pray tell me that I'm free to ride,
Ride for many mile, mile, mile.
Oh, yes, you got a fine sister,
She warmed my blood from cold,
We warmed my blood to boiling hot
To keep you from the Gallows Pole,
Your brother brought me silver,
Your sister warmed my soul,
But now I laugh and pull so hard
And see you swinging on the Gallows Pole...
Keep-a-swingin'!
Swingin' on the gallows pole!
See-saw, Marjorie daw
See-saw knock on my door

---

It seemed appropriate....

[RightOnline]

"They approached the Nawab of Kalabagh who yielded considerable influence on the aggrieved camp."

Of course, this was after they had already approached and had been turned down by the Mugwah of Pfumph, the Phoonman of Kaleidsdale, and the Smurfem of Kxrtxpheeagashit.

Life is complicated in Pakistan.

[Aaron_A]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/721596/posts

[Vidalia]

Damnya, damnya, they oughta take a rope and hangya...

But you got there first! ..good fun!

[norraad]

Again & again every dirtbag culture beyound our borders continues to be exposed as thinly veiled dressed up savages, where is the outrage from the loudmouth NAGS & other womens groups?

Strange, very strange.

[Bedford Forrest]

Skimming off the Onion again, are ye, me boyo?

[Lessismore]

Welcome to DAWN, Pakistan's most widely circulated English language newspaper.

Updated round-the-clock, with a major update before 10:00 PDT (04:00 GMT).

I wish it were Onion.

[dcwusmc]

So do I!

[BlackVeil]

LOL! Loved your list of local notables.

But also very funny was the articles bland mention of this arragenment as being "per the local tradition called Vani." (Vani must be the Urdu word for "getting away with it.")

[Chemnitz]

Vani=selling your sister down the river to save your worthless neck.

[xzins]

Legend-like story and accompanying song lyrics. Thanks.

[Brian Allen]

<< Again & again every dirtbag culture beyond our borders continues to be exposed as thinly veiled dressed up savages, where is the outrage from the loudmouth NAGS & other womens groups? >>

The word "Savage" did not back its way into the English Language.

And the most insidiously dirtbag "culture" of them all is that squalidly amoral panthiest swamp occupied by the death-worshipping, Easternist/Feminist NAG Gang and by their perversity-promoting, tree-hugging, life-of-abandon buddies.

[nickcarraway]

ping

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Ping!

[Movemout]

Actually, during the days of Robespierre it was not unusual for the condemned to trade their mothers, sisters, their wealth, and their honor to escape Monsieur Guillotine. When Saladin conquered the the Christians in the 12th Century, Jerusalem was ransomed at the expense of the Church and the honor of many a european female. It is not a new concept.

I find it revolting that it still exists and that an 80 year old man will be serviced by a teenager so that her relatives can escape death. Maybe the world is not as modern as it claims.

[Salman]

Song: Gallows Pole
Artist: Led Zeppelin

LZ performed it well, but it's an old ballad.

[Salman]

Pakistan -- our wonderful ally! (Although home to a few quaint customs)

Girls and gold, two of the six things that motivate people to kill. The other four are land, religion, race, and stupidity. A good thing for the defendents that they had plenty of the first two, because they are the same as the prosecution when it comes to the other four.

Justice you say? Gimme a break, you know dang well you already said "Pakistan".

[Wondervixen]

Not to be knocking the value of gold in this transaction, but they have to throw in several of US to seal the deal? Just another case of young women being called on to pull some dumbass men's testicles out of the fire...I suppose if it were Alabama, a few cases of beer would have been in the mix as well.