Quote of the Day

"She came out of her house with another guy who was not her husband, so we must punish her. There are boundaries you cannot cross."—Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan, taking credit for the flogging, captured on video (trigger warning; video does not play automatically), of a young woman in Pakistan's Swat Valley, "offering a shocking glimpse of militant brutality in the once-peaceful district, and a sign of Taliban influence spreading deeper into the country." Khan also "defended the Taliban's right to thrash women shoppers who were inappropriately dressed, saying it was permitted under Islamic law."

[Samar Minallah, a Pashtun documentary maker and anthropologist who provided the video to the Guardian] said the punishment had been inflicted within the last 10 days, following the signing of a controversial peace deal under which the provincial government ceded control of the valley's judicial system to the militants.

"This video is being widely circulated because the Taliban want people to see it. They want to give the message that this is taking place after the peace deal because this is something they ideologically believe in," she said.

...The woman in the video, named as Chaand and believed to be aged 17, was punished in Matta, a district further up the Swat Valley.

Minallah and other sources said the girl was punished on suspicion of having had an illicit relationship with a married man. She did not receive a trial. "The whole case is based on the suspicions of one neighbour," said Minallah.

The woman's brother is among the men pinning her down, she added. "It's symbolic that he does it with his own hands. It gives him honour in local society, that he has done it for the sake of religion."

The Swat Valley is controlled by Maulana Fazlullah, a charismatic preacher who initially gained popularity through radio broadcasts, then seized control through gun battles, suicide attacks and intimidation of the local population.

Great. The Rush Limbaugh of Swat Valley.

Contact the US State Department.