Taking Law into Their Own Hands: Unofficial and Illegal Sanctions by the Pakistani Tribal Councils
![handle is hein.journals/iicl13 and id is 551 raw text is: TAKING LAW INTO THEIR OWN HANDS:
UNOFFICIAL AND ILLEGAL SANCTIONS BY THE
PAKISTANI TRIBAL COUNCILS
I. INTRODUCTION
In June 2002, a Pakistani tribal village council sentenced a woman to be
gang raped in order to restore the honor of an opposing tribe.' It is
unfathomable that such an atrocious human rights violation could be rendered
as a form of punishment in a civilized country. In order to understand how
something like that could happen in the twenty-first century, one only need
look at the state of Pakistani law and order, or the lack thereof.'
This Note will look at the historical effects that led up to the present-day
determination that the country is in a state of lawlessness.3 More importantly,
this Note will look at the effects on the Pakistani culture and society when
such inhumane punishment is ordered by the tribal justice system. An analysis
will be conducted to determine what role these tribal councils play as an
alternative to the official court system in resolving disputes and how some of
the remedies sanctioned by the council are in conflict with the Pakistan
Constitution. In addition, this Note will compare how India officially utilizes
the tribal councils within their society for the purpose of illustrating how
Pakistan could utilize a tribal jury system effectively and officially. Finally,
this Note will analyze whether the tribal councils should be abolished or
reformed.4
1. See Muhammad Saleem Sheikh, The Meerwala Incident: Shame in the Name of
Justice, You (July 26, 2002), available at http://www.jang-group.con/thenews/ju12002-
weekly/you-16-07-2002.html (last visited Jan. 19, 2003).
2. See id. This type of court system, the jirga, is not legal but is maintained by tribal
leaders to uphold their feudal authority. See Criminology Research Institute, Punjabi Gang
Rape Victim Fears For Her Life After Six Are Sentenced to Hang, available at
http://www.thecriminologist.comlcrinews/gangjrape.asp (last visited Nov. 19, 2002)
[hereinafter CRI]. What makes it difficult for the police to act against this type of justice, is
that the local police officers will do little if nothing to prevent such trials from occurring and
are more likely to help by covering up evidence of the tribal proceedings. See id. However, this
brutal example of medieval justice has prompted the Pakistani Government to take action after
the public and human rights organizations outcry against this violation. See id.
3. See AZHAR HASSAN NADEEM, PAKISTAN: THEPOLITICALECONOMY OFLAWLESSNESS
1-2 (2002).
4. Several other factors will be addressed in dealing with the much larger issue of
lawlessness. However, these issues will only be briefly discussed to allow the majority of the
discussion to focus on the interaction between the State and the tribal councils.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/iicl13&div=20&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Taking Law into Their Own Hands: Unofficial and Illegal Sanctions by the Pakistani Tribal Councils
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