A village council has punished a 20-year-old man for adultery by ordering the betrothal of his 2-year-old niece to the husband of the woman with whom he had the alleged affair, police said on Monday. Tribal elders meeting last week also ordered Muhammad Akmal to pay a 230,000-rupee fine to the woman's husband, who has since divorced his wife. Police said that the council in Kacha Chohan village decreed that the 2-year old girl would be married to Muhammad Altaf when she turns 18. Altaf, a 42-year old farmer, divorced his 32-year old wife over her alleged love affair with Akmal, and then asked elders to convene the panchayat, or council, on February 15 to arbitrate in the dispute and propose a punishment. Akmal, a bachelor and also a farmer, is Altaf's cousin. Area police chief Maqsoodul Hassan said officers have started an investigation, but had made no arrests because no one had filed a complaint. None of the parties to the dispute could be reached for comment Monday. Their Mazari tribal village has no telephone service. Rashid Rahman, a lawyer and Multan-based coordinator with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, condemned the village council's decision. "These types of panchayats are illegal and nobody has the right to take a decision about a child's life," he said. "This country has its legal system and all decisions should be taken under it."
