Suffering by The Dawn News Correspondent

A jirga on Tuesday fined the husband, Dholan Chandio, and father-in-law, Buggoo Chandio, of an 11-year-old girl Rs20,000 for torturing her and breaking her limbs.

The jirga was held at the Autaq of one Kamal Din Shar near Mundh Jamrao in which more than 20 people from both sides participated. The jirga also decided that the girl, Nazia, would live at the house of her father, who is a peasant, for three years and after that she would decide whether to stay with father or go to her husband's house.

The girl had been forced to marry when she was only eight in exchange of her brother's wife. When area police station SHO Mohammad Ahmad Bhatti was contacted, he confirmed that the girl had been subjected to torture but said the family of the girl was cooperating and her father and brother were not ready to lodge a formal FIR.

The SHO said the girl's family feared that if they lodged an FIR, their clansmen would get infuriated and, therefore, they decided to resolve the matter through elders. The first wife of Nazia's husband had committed suicide a few years ago after she had allegedly been severely tortured by her father-in-law and husband.