Girl selling in Mardan district; Police didn't take action against corruption

Peshawar – Selling young girls is common business at district Mardan, hometown of the chief minister of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa province. The people who are involved in selling girls have powerful friends, so the police don't take little or no action against these corrupt gangs. Local police are silent and are purported to recieve money from these people.

On 13 June 2011, thirteen year old Nargas, who lived in Chakro Bridge Mardan, disappeared from her home. Local people saw Nargas at Mardan College road in a vehicle driven by Imtaiaz. People informed Nargas' Father, Kamen Khan, that his daughter was with Imtaiaz in the vehicle.

Her Father went to the police station in Hoti to file a F.I.R of missing persons on his daughter, he also gave the name of Imtaiaz as a suspect, but the police didn’t take any action against him.

Even after two days, the wife of Imtaiaz came to Kamen Khan's home and informed him that her husband brought Kamen's daughter to her home and he wanted to marry the 13 year old Nargas. After again complaining to the civil court, the police finally took action and arrested Imtaiaz for kidnapping the girl.

Friends of Imtaiaz took Nargas from Imtaiaz's home and the Peshawar High Court gave bail to Imtaiaz. According to Kamen Khan, they found the old clothes of Nargas (her daughter) at Imtaiaz Khan's home, but the court didn’t see the evidence.

The community also works to recover Nargas with the help of Jirga, and Jirga members talked with the suspects but as yet no one has taken responsibility.

According to sources, the accused Imtaiaz is the main person behind this game; he take girls from Mardan city and sells them in Punjab province. Before the Nargas case, he was involved with other Punjab people, and they took girls from Mardan, Swabi and Charsadda in the name of weeding and they sold the girls. Most of the girls didn’t return because of their family honor.

According to sources, Imtaiaz also gives tips to the Jirga Member in the Nargas case, that if Jirga members leave Imtaiaz alone and didn’t blame him for kidnapping Nargas, then he will gift another girl to a Jirga member.

But Jirga members refused and Imtaiaz left the area after making bail.