Jawzjan elders save woman from Taliban stoning

SHIBERGHAN (Pajhwok): Local officials on Thursday said Taliban militants wanted to stone an innocent woman to death on adultery charge in northwestern Jawzjan province, but elders prevented their move.

Governor Maulvi Lotfullah Azizi told Pajhwok Afghan News Taliban commander Qari Hekmat had accused the woman of adultery and wanted to stone her in public in Darzab district.

But local religious scholars and elders opposed his decision because there was no evidence to prove guilty the 22-year-old woman. The elders had warned the Taliban of expelling them from the area if they harmed the woman.

Azizi said the woman had a family problem which he promised to be resolved through judicial laws.

Jawzjan provincial council head Maulvi Abdul Hai Hayat said they sent local elders to the area to prevent the Taliban from stoning the woman. He said the woman had been rescued.

However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement expressed unawareness about the incident. He said they had removed Qari Hekmat from the group after he was accused of cruel activities.

This comes after a woman, Rukhshana, was stoned to death on the same charge and the person she eloped with was whipped by Taliban militants in Ghor province on October 25. The incident was widely condemned.

A short video clip of the incident was circulated on social media, but Taliban militants have so far not commented on the issue.

mds/ma

Views: 100