Head of Jirga responsible for honor killing flees to Afghanistan

Naimat Khan

KARACHI: Head of the “Mohmand Jirga” that ordered to kill a couple for “dishonoring” their families, has crossed to Kunar on Afghanistan side of the Pak-Afghan border; it was reliably learnt here on Saturday.

Sartaj Khan, a resident of Landhi, who originally hails from the Federally Administered Tribal Area of Mohmand, ran away after the news emerged in a national daily that he has ordered to murder the couple, who made a fail bid to elope.

“Sartaj Khan, who fled Karachi for Rawalpindi, has now managed to cross the border and is living in Kunar area of Afghanistan,” a source told while demanding complete anonymity.

Earlier, Amanullah Marwat, Station House Officer, told media that he had leads that Sartaj Khan might be in Rawalpindi.

Mohmand Jirga

A Jirga, comprising of elders of the Mohmand tribe, was held in Landhi area of Karachi after the notorious Sartaj Khan came to know that families of the teenage couple had reached agreement to tie the knot of 17 years old, Ghani Rehman, with 15 years old, Hikmat, from Safi sub-tribe of Mohmand.

According to a report published by a Karachi based journalist, Zia Ur Rehman, a teenage couple accused of violating the Pashtun ‘code of honor’ was murdered with electric shocks on day when country was observing Independence Day.

According to report the murders were executed by family members on the orders of a jirga of elders of the Mohmand tribe.

Initially, according to the report, parents of the couple, after realizing gravity of the issue, agreed on sparing the couple’s life when Rehman’s father, Afzal, accepted demand of Taj, father of the girl Hikmat, to marry his two daughters with men from girls’ family as part of the infamous ‘Swara’ tradition.

When Sartaj Khan, who is said to be closed relative of Omar Khurrasani, spokesperson of the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), came to know about the settlement summoned a Jirga and forced the families to kill their dear ones through electric shocks.

The girl’s family responded promptly, however, the boy’s father also couldn’t resist for long due to threats from Sartaj to blow his house in Mohmand Agency up.

Both couples were buried in a local graveyard during the dark nights but the news somehow broke out which promoted police to arrest Afzal and Hikmat, fathers of the unlucky boy and girl.

Sartaj Khan Alias Shagalai, the main character behind the cold-blooded murders, escaped to Rawalpindi and then managed to cross the border to Afghanistan.

It’s pertinent to mention that the notorious Jirga head ran a small business of construction materials in Sherpao Colony, a mile from the graveyard.