Pakistani Taliban flog girl accused of having affair
By Kamran Haider
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Video footage has emerged in Pakistan of Taliban militants beating in public a teenaged girl accused of having an affair, a stark illustration of the spread of hardline Islamist influence.
The 17-year-old girl was beaten in the Swat Valley, some 140 km northwest of Islamabad, about two weeks ago, a human rights worker said.
The government virtually ceded control of the one-time tourist valley to militants in February under a deal to end fighting there.
Grainy footage apparently shot with a mobile phone camera shows militants making the burqa-clad girl lie on the ground on her stomach.
One man holds her feet and another her head while a third man with a black beard and turban flogs her with a leather strap. Men can be seen looking on.
"For God's sake, stop it ... hang on, hang on," the girl cries as the man beats her across the buttocks.
The provincial government agreed in February to let Islamists impose sharia law in Swat in exchange for peace.
Critics said appeasement would only embolden the militants who aim to take over other areas. Pakistan's Western allies fear pacts create safe havens for Taliban and al Qaeda fighters. Continued...
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