BANNU — Public anger is mounting following the release of a harrowing video showing a 15-year-old girl being tortured by armed men. The footage, filmed in the Domel area of Bannu, has ignited a fierce debate over the state’s inability to protect its citizens from extremist intimidation.
Local accounts identify the victim as Hamshda. Witnesses suggest that the attackers targeted her for her choice of attire, specifically for wearing men’s clothing. Despite previous warnings from her family regarding her appearance, unidentified militants abducted the teenager and moved her to a clandestine location.
A coerced confession
The captors used the filmed ordeal to extract a forced apology. In the video, the girl promises to stop dressing in a masculine style and pledges to avoid the company of boys. Reports indicate her release only followed this coerced vow of “repentance.”
Local law enforcement in Domel confirmed that no First Information Report (FIR) has been filed. Police officials claim they are investigating the incident, yet no formal complaint has been registered by the affected family.
In a rare move, the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) distributed a pamphlet addressing the outcry. The group promised to investigate the matter internally. They stated that any members found responsible for the unauthorized assault would face disciplinary action.
The erosion of the rule of law
This incident is part of a disturbing trend of moral policing in the region. Recently, militants detained a local youth, Sahib Khan, shortly after he secured bail for a social media offense. Furthermore, shopkeepers in Domel and Township report receiving threats against selling grooming or makeup products.
Aimal Wali Khan, president of the Awami National Party (ANP), delivered a blistering critique of the government’s passivity. Speaking from Peshawar, he condemned the torture as a fundamental “insult to humanity.”
“Extremists are hiding behind the shield of religion to justify brutality,” Khan remarked. He questioned how a child’s lifestyle choices could be treated as a criminal matter in a modern state.
A state in retreat
The ANP leader pointed to a systemic collapse of authority across the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He cited a previous case where a man was abducted for filming a young female cricketer, Aina Wazir, as evidence of a “parallel system” of governance.
“We cannot have two sets of laws for one country,” Khan insisted. He warned that the distinction between “good” and “bad” militants has failed, leaving the public to suffer the consequences.
The current situation poses a direct challenge to the sovereignty of the state. Khan concluded that internal radicalization now represents a more urgent threat than foreign interference. Unless the government reclaims its writ, the protection of life and liberty remains an illusion for those living under the shadow of the gun.
