Islamabad: The banned Lashkar-e-Islam militant group shaved the heads and lashed two teenagers for allegedly being involved in robberies in the restive Khyber tribal region of northwest Pakistan, according to a media report on Wednesday.
Lashkar-e-Islam commander Muhammad Hussain said Zahir Shah and Mohammad Majeed were allegedly involved in robbing the houses of people who had left the Shalobar area of Khyber Agency after the security forces conducted operations there. Hussain said the two teenagers were picked up by militants in Shalobar area on Monday.
"We recovered jewellery, clothes, boxes, cell phones and other valuables from them which they had stolen from the houses of the internally displaced persons in Shalobar area," he told The News daily.
The stolen items were later returned to the owners. "Our council first decided to shoot the two robbers to make an example of them but later we reversed the decision, keeping in view their young age," Hussain said.
"We awarded them 20 lashes each and got their heads shaved," he added.
Militant groups in northwest Pakistan have often punished or even executed people accused of various crimes in areas controlled by them.
PTI