Islamabad – Afzal Kohistani, the key witness in the Kohistan video scandal, was killed in a firing incident near Gami Adda in Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to details, Afzal Kohistani died on the spot in the firing on Children Hospital Road near Gami Adda, while another two persons were injured in the firing, who have been shifted to District Headquarters Hospital for treatment.
Afzal Kohistani was the main witness in the Kohistan girls murder case.
The Supreme Court had on January 2, 2019, disposed of the plea pertaining to the Kohistan video scandal and directed the petitioner to approach the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to include terror clauses in the case.
In May 2012, Afzal Kohistani had uploaded a video on social media showing his brothers dancing at a programme, with some girls singing and clapping. After the video got leaked, a Jirga was held by the girls’ tribe which issued a decree for the killing of the boys and girls under a tribal custom.
Afzal, whose brothers were shown in the video, appealed to a court that the five girls – Bazgha, Sireen Jan, Amna, Begum Jan and Shaheen, who had taken them to the programme, had been killed on the order of the Jirga.
The then Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry had taken a suo moto notice of the case on June 7, 2012, and constituted a fact-finding mission on July 17, 2012, to investigate the case.
The commission visited Kohistan and presented its report to the Supreme Court on July 20, 2017, which stated that the girls were alive. One of the commission members, Dr Farzana Bari expressed her doubts that the girls, which were produced before them clad in burqa and veil, were not the ones which were shown in the video.
On January 3, 2013, Afzal’s three brothers named Shah Faisal, Sher Wali and Raffiduddin were killed inside their home by the girls’ tribesmen.
Meanwhile, Bari with the help of human rights activists and Afzal had got some tests conducted to ensure that the girls were the same, but the results suggested otherwise.
When the case was appealed to be reopened, the apex court ordered the National Database and Registration Authority to match fingerprints and CNICs. The tests came back as negative.
On July 31, 2018, a new case was registered at the Palas Police Station on the Supreme Court’s orders.
Four suspects namely Umar Khan, Saber, Mohamad Sarfraz and Saeer were arrested. Upon interrogation, the suspects confessed to killing three girls Begum Jan, Sireen Jan and Bazgha by firing, saying they disposed of the bodies in Nala Chorh.
