Islamabad - Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights Tuesday recommended   that the murder of Muhammad Afzal Kohistani - the man who exposed the 2012 Kohistan video honour killing scandal -should be heard in Anti-Terrorism Court.

The committee further endorsed formation of a joint investigation team and directed to provide security to the relatives of the murdered man to avoid any potential loss or danger.

Afzal Kohistani was shot dead on March 6 in the densely populated area of Sarban Chowk, Abbottabad by unidentified gunmen who managed to flee afterwards.

The Kohistan video scandal made headlines in 2012 when five girls were killed by members of their tribe after a mobile phone video of them at a wedding in a remote village in Kohistan emerged on social media.

In the eyes of the locals, the young girls violated tribal norms and brought dishonour upon them.

The Committee heard DIG Hazara Division Muhammad Ali Babakhel, Human Rights Activist Dr Farzana Bari and brother (Bin Yasir) and uncle (Gul Nazar) of the murdered man. The Committee expressed extreme shock at the fact that even after passage of seven years the culprits have not been punished and the vulnerable have not been provided security. The Committee was told by DIG Hazara that Afzal Kohistani was travelling with his nephew Faiz ur Rehman when he was killed and the evidence has shown that the nephew is involved in the murder. The brother of the murdered man, however, rejected this claim.

Meanwhile, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) officials said that only 41 companies are non-compliant as of today to the condition of having at least one female board member. The committee was told that code was made in 2017 and was made effective in 2018 but some companies had already held their elections and breaking a board and going for a new election is a long exercise. The companies, in this regard, were given an exemption till the new election of board when they will ensure compliance of the code of having at least one female board member. The Committee was told that the non-compliant companies only constitute 8per cent of the total number of companies registered with SECP and the percentage of compliance which is at 46per cent today, will reach 93per cent by end of 2020.

PTV officials said that there is no delay in payment of pensions and salaries but in payment of commutation fund. PTV is currently in a loss of 5.8 billion and is in dire need of a proper and effective business plan which will be shared with the Ministry of Finance to resolve the administrative and financial issues.