Militants publicly execute man, boy for sexual affair

Oct 9, 2011, 6:45 GMT

Islamabad - A man and boy allegedly having sexual relations were publicly executed by militants in Pakistan's north-western tribal areas near Afghanistan, a media report said Sunday.

The incident occurred in Malik Garhi area of Bara region of Khyber, one of seven tribal districts, where militants belonging to Lashkar-i-Islam group, an ally of Taliban, are active.

The News newspaper said a man working as machine operator in a local loom factory had sex with a boy and later circulated among his friends a video clip of the act.

The images reached the militants of Lashkar-i-Islam who have announced their intention to forcibly implement the Sharia laws, which recommend death for adultery.

The militants promptly acted and seized the man and boy Friday and took them to an undisclosed location where they reportedly tortured the victims.

'The militants brought the accused to Malik Garhi around noon on Saturday where in the presence of a crowd they pushed them down from the bank of River Bara,' the report said.

Both were badly injured after falling down the 10-metre bank. The militants then shot them dead, it said.

Sabeel Khan, a local commander of Lashkar-i-Islam, told the paper that anyone found having illicit relations would be dealt in the same way.

Same-sex relations are part of local culture in north-western Pakistan but the Taliban deem it to be against Islam.