Word: swatting
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Journalists in Swat speak of an atmosphere of fear in the valley; reporters say they are fearful of speaking out as well, afraid that they will be targeted by Taliban angry over the leak of the video. One journalist, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said, "We are the prime suspects." (Check out a story about Talibanistan...
...Supreme Court and its Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, are not keeping silent, however. While Chaudhry says the authenticity of the video must be established (noting that it could be part of a scheme against those in Swat "demanding the application of Shari'a law"), he voiced outrage at what the footage appeared to portray. "[This] certainly constitutes a serious violation of law and fundamental rights of the citizens of the country," he declared on Monday during a hearing on the incident. Chaudhry reprimanded several senior officials, including Pakistan Attorney General Sardar Latif Khosa, for failing to take immediate action: "Before...
Human-rights activists from the region insist that the girl in the video and the countless other victims in Swat are too helpless to speak out. "Who can stop the Taliban when they claim to be working in the name of Islam?" asked Yasmine Khan, program coordinator for the Female Human Rights Organization (FEHRO) for Swat, who recently fled to Islamabad after allegedly receiving death threats by Taliban militants. "Things are out of hand, and the government cannot control things." (See pictures of the front line in the war against the Taliban...
However, the Swat-based Taliban denies that the incident took place in the valley. Several officials and commentators have expressed skepticism that the men performing the punishment in the video were Taliban militants. A local news organization noted that were it up to the Taliban, the victim "would have been shot." The 17-year-old alleged to be in the video now denies that she was the burqa-clad girl beaten in the footage. She failed to appear at Pakistan's Supreme Court for a hearing on Monday...
Khan, the women's-rights activist, however, is pessimistic that even Chaudhry can get anything done. She says the Supreme Court inquiry is merely smoke and mirrors and that it will take a "miracle" to bring justice to Swat. "Until now, nobody knows who murdered Benazir Bhutto," she says. "Where is that committee? Where are those results? Do you think anyone will investigate or help the poor people of Swat...