A Pakistani soldier was publicly stoned to death on the order of a tribal court in the country’s northwestern Kurram region for having an affair with a local woman, government officials and tribesmen said.
Such tribal justice is a stark reminder of the difficulty in establishing a credible civilian administration in Pakistan’s semi-autonomous region bordering Afghanistan, despite a series of military operations in the area and Western nations pouring in millions of dollars to help build infrastructure.
Punjab native Anwar Din, 27, was posted last year to the Parachinar area of Kurram agency where he met Intizar Bibi, 19, while manning a checkpost near her home. The two embarked on a romantic relationship, tribal sources said, and he tried to elope with her when he was later posted to the Kashmir region. It was not immediately clear what evidence there was, if any, of a romance.