PAKISTAN: MILITARY OFFICIAL STONED TO DEATH

March 12, 2013: A military official was stoned to death in Pakistan after he was caught trying to elope with a local girl in Pakistan’s restive Kurram tribal district along the Pak-Afghan border.
 An eyewitness, requesting anonymity out of fear of retaliation, told Newsweek Pakistan that the incident occurred in the Turi graveyard of Parachinar, the main town of Kurram Agency. The political administration also confirmed the execution, while a military official, on condition of anonymity, admitted that the victim had “belonged to the Army.”
Anwar Din, a serving military official from the Mianwali district of Punjab province, had allegedly gotten engaged to a local girl in secret while on deployment in the region. “Anwar Din became involved with a local Shia Muslim girl while he was deployed in the area,” according to the eyewitness. “He was transferred a while back but had come to meet her while on leave.” 
Both Din and the girl were accompanied by friends and were spotted by locals while they were exchanging gifts in the graveyard, says the eyewitness, adding that while the couples’ friends managed to escape, Din was captured. The girl has taken refuge in the nearby Dar-ul-Zahra madrassah.
Following Din’s capture, the local tribal jirga formed a committee to investigate and verify the allegations against him. Once confirmed, they decided to stone him to death. “This man was supposed to protect our region, but he did something that violates the code and conduct of the Pashtun tribe,” an elder who participated in the jirga told Newsweek Pakistan. “He has now met his fate.”
A crowd of hundreds assembled to watch the 28-year-old’s stoning. “Din was brought to a square near the Turi graveyard where people started throwing stones and later beat him with poles of wood,” says the eyewitness. He said the stoning lasted almost 15 minutes and was accompanied by chants of Nara Haideri and Ya Ali.
After Din had succumbed to his injuries, his body was delivered to a nearby Frontier Corp camp, according to locals. The fate of the girl remains unclear.
Death by stoning is an ancient form of capital punishment, usually reserved for those who have committed adultery. According to the elder who participated in the jirga: “This stoning wasn’t according to Islam, but it was in accordance with our tribal code.”
A local doctor who examined Din’s body told Newsweek Pakistan “the mutilated body of the soldier was brought to the hospital in the afternoon with multiple head injuries.”
“It was beyond recognition,” he added.
Parachinar is home to a majority Shia population predominantly originating from the Turi and Bangash Pashtun tribes. Tribal codes are known to stipulate honor killings for individuals who attempt to get married in the absence of family approval. In 2010, another couple was sentenced to death by stoning for alleged adultery in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, attracting international condemnation.  (Sources: newsweekpakistan.com, 13/03/2013)