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Express Tribune
16-05-2025
- Express Tribune
Police foil honour killing, rescue woman
This situation underscores the urgent need for Peshawar Police to procure modern technological equipment and update its communication infrastructure in order to improve the response time and safety of the deployed personnel. PHOTO: EXPRESS A woman allegedly being held captive with the intent to be killed in the name of 'honour' was safely rescued in Upper South Waziristan, thanks to the swift action of local police and the cooperation of community elders. The timely intervention has drawn praise from local residents for the decisive response by law enforcement. According to sources, police in the Sarwekai area received a tip-off from an informant that a woman was being illegally detained in a house in the remote mountainous region of Badr, approximately 50 kilometers west of Sarwekai. The information indicated that she was at imminent risk of being murdered under the pretext of honour. Upon verifying the report, the matter was brought to the attention of District Police Officer (DPO) Arshad Khan, who immediately ordered a rescue operation. A team was assembled under the supervision of DSP Sarwekai Circle Ashiq Elahi, and included SHO Sarwekai Kamran Khan, SHO Tiarza Abid Khan, and accompanying police personnel. With the cooperation of local tribal elders and the support of a traditional Jirga, the team reached the location and successfully recovered the woman without incident. She was taken into protective custody and is reported to be safe. Local residents and tribal elders have lauded DPO Arshad Khan and his team for their prompt and courageous action. Speaking on the matter, DPO Arshad Khan stated, "We respect tribal traditions and customs, but any act that violates the law will not be tolerated. No one is above the law, and no one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands. Those who do will face strict legal consequences."
Express Tribune
09-02-2025
- Express Tribune
Youth fall prey to social media's gun culture
PESHAWAR: "Boys will be boys." This classic excuse is promptly presented by over coddling parents at the slightest reference to a shameful misdeed undertaken by their tattered safety nets for old age. While this shallow justification might defend a boy harmlessly tugging his little sister's hair for fun (thanks to son preference), it fails to work when the same toxic masculine behaviour is guilty of encouraging armed violence among millions of other young boys across the country. One such youth, a boy hailing from the Faqirabad area of Peshawar, picked up his gun and fired at his friend after a minor altercation, killing the poor boy in no time. Later, it was revealed that the accused would regularly watch reels of young men displaying weapons on TikTok. While this case might be an extreme manifestation of the effects of the gun culture on impressionable young minds, the promotion of armed violence on social media has increasingly become a cause for concern. An officer from Peshawar Police's monitoring team revealed on the condition of anonymity that during the last six months, the sheer volume of content promoting weapons and armed aggression had increased considerably throughout the province, with a large number of youths between the ages of 18 to 35 years displaying weapons through reels on TikTok. "If the gun culture is not curtailed on social media, it can present a bigger challenge in the future. The free display of weapons on social media is causing two major problems. Firstly, after killing someone, extorters threaten the opponent with TikTok videos, spreading fear of their presence in the area. Secondly, other youths also emulate the influencers by making similar videos with weapons," said the Superintendent of Police (SP) Faqirabad, Talal Ahmad. Sources have revealed that 55 TikTok accounts promoting weapons have been identified in the Peshawar Cantt area alone, out of which 27 of the accused have been arrested. However, the accounts that they were operating could not be closed since the police only registered a case against them under Section 15 AAA, under which the accused were released the very next day after paying a petty fine of Rs300 to Rs500. Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, Senior Advocate at the Peshawar High Court, believed that the proliferation of arms plaguing the province two decades ago had returned once again to disturb the law-and-order, courtesy social media. "Currently, the police only issues challans under the Arms Act, which carries no major punishment, allowing the accused to be released immediately. The provincial government must devise strict legislation in this regard as soon as possible to curtail such social ills," implored Gigyani. According to Professor Dr Iram Irshad, Chairperson of the Department of Psychology at the University of Peshawar, young people have a tendency to emulate the activities they see on social media. "When boys are exposed to violence and the gun culture on TikTok and other social media sources, they will try to copy it. This is having a very bad effect on the youth, due to which their interest in academics is decreasing," opined Dr Irshad. Similarly, Imran Takkar, a child's rights activist, was of the opinion that the gun culture promoted through social media had become dangerously popular in both rural and urban areas. "While the promotion of weapons in rural areas can aggravate long held grievances, in urban areas it can propel the rate of crime. As a social worker, I feel that it is imperative to promote positive content on social media and train the youth to stay away from violence and immoral tendencies," suggested Takkar. Commenting on the matter, CCPO at the Peshawar Police, Qasim Ali Khan conceded to the concerns that the gun culture on social media was as harmful for the youth as was drug addiction.
