Afghans hunt commander over rape of girl

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan, Nov 10: Afghan authorities are hunting a militia commander over the kidnap and rape of an 11-year-old girl whose family was given a dog and some cash as compensation.

The girl, who had also been previously raped by the man and some of his comrades, has been missing for almost a month, relatives and neighbours in a village in the northern province of Kunduz said today.

The day after she disappeared, a messenger from the commander, named only as Mahmud, gave the family some cash and a dog, normally regarded as unclean in Islamic societies.

After repeated pleas for help from village elders and her family, provincial governor Mohammad Omar set up a team to find her and prosecute Mahmud and his accomplices.

''Raping a young girl is a crime in our law. The case should be followed,'' he said today. ''We will hand over the culprits to the law once we detain them.

''We are taking very strong measures in this regard.'' A district official said Mahmud, from one of Afghanistan's former Mujahideen (holy warrior) factions, had a long-running feud with the girl's family and was exacting revenge.

But her mother Gul Shah rejected that: ''What kind of government is it? My daughter was raped and exchanged for a dog and I want my daughter back and I want the criminals to stand on trial. She is 11 years old and it is against Islam and our Afghani values and customs.''

REUTERS