Local Taliban executed a 25-year-old man for killing a taxi driver in South Waziristan under Islamic law (Sharia), said residents on Monday. The execution is the first case tried under Sharia in the tribal areas.Hayat Gul was executed on Sunday at an undisclosed location in Ladah sub-division of South Waziristan after a Taliban shura (council) found him guilty. "The accused was buried on Monday," Inayatullah Mehsud, a shopkeeper in Ladah bazaar told Daily Times. "He was a professional car-snatcher - a bad guy."
Gul was accused of killing Bilal, a taxi driver, in Wana a month ago. Bilal's family had appealed to the shura for justice. "Gul pleaded guilty and was allowed to ask for forgiveness from the deceased's family, which rejected his plea," said the shura.
Clerics announced Sharia in South Waziristan on March 10. A NWFP Governor's FATA Secretariat spokesman denied on March 17 that the area had been taken over by the Taliban but added that a peace committee was formed to maintain peace in Waziristan. The execution comes two days after Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao denied the Taliban presence in Pakistan's tribal areas.