Mai Jindo (born 1942) was a laborer woman from Tando Bahawal whose two sons and son-in-law were killed by a

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

detachment along with seven other villagers in 1992 of farmers involved in a land dispute,. This incident also known as Tando Bahawal incident. Mai Jindo fought hard for justice. Two of her daughters, Hakimzadi and Zaibunissa, set themselves on fire in order to get the authorities to take up their brothers' cases.

Tando Bahawal incident

On 5 June 1992, a contingent of

, led by Major Arshad Jameel, raided the village of Tando Bahawal, on the outskirts of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

, kidnapped nine villagers and later shot them dead on the bank of the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

near

Jamshoro Jamshoro ( sd, ڄام شورو, ur, ) is a city and the capital of Jamshoro District, located in Sindh, Pakistan. It is located on the right bank of the Indus River, approximately northwest of Hyderabad and northeast from the provincial capi ...

. The dead included Mai Jindo's two sons, Bahadur and Manthar, and a son-in-law, Haji Akram. Later, the Army alleged that the villagers were terrorists and agents of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

's intelligence agency

Research and Analysis Wing The Research and Analysis Wing (abbreviated R&AW; hi, ) is the foreign intelligence agency of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, an ...

. The media, however, exposed the claims as phony and produced evidence that the victims were farmers involved in a land dispute.

Hakimzadi and Zaibunissa

On 11 September 1996, two daughters of Mai Jindo, Hakimzadi, and Zaibunissa set themselves afire to protest delays in the execution of Major Arshad Jamil, convicted of murdering their brothers and seven other villagers. They were hospitalized in critical condition and both later died.

Court-martial

After a long and painful struggle by Mai Jindo and her two self-immolated daughters, the Army dismissed Arshad Jamil and tried him by

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

. He was

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

in October 1996. The Chief of Army Staff

Jehangir Karamat General Jehangir Karamat ( ur, ; born 20 February 1941) best known as JK, is a senior Pakistan Army officer who served as the 6th Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, from 12 January 1996 to 6 October 1998. diplomat, public intellectual, ...

confirmed the conviction and sentence and the President of Pakistan

Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari ( ur, ; 29 May 194020 October 2010), was a Pakistani politician who served as the eighth president of Pakistan from 14 November 1993 until resigning on 2 December 1997. He is the first Baloch to have been elected a ...

rejected a mercy petition. Previously in October 1995, Arshad Jameel filled an appeal petition with the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

, but his petition was dismissed. Major Arshad Jamil was hanged in

Central Jail on 28 October 1996.

Compensation for families of victims

In 2004, 12 years after the Tando Bahawal incident and 8 years after Major Arshad Jamil's execution, the Government of

allotted 24 acres of land to each bereaved family in

Thatta Thatta ( sd, ٺٽو; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Thatta's historic significance has yielded several monuments in and ...

district. Later Mai Jindo stated that the land was barren. In 2006, District Nazim

Kunwar Naveed Jamil Kunwar Naveed Jamil () is a Pakistani politician who is the member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh since August 2018. Previously, he had been a member of the been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, from April 2015 to May 2018. E ...

distributed compensation cheques for Rs4.55 million among relatives of the victims of the Tando Bahawal carnage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jindo, Mai 1942 births Living people Sindhi people Pakistan military scandals 1996 in Pakistan 1990s murders in Pakistan 1990s crimes in Pakistan 1990s crimes in Asia Murder in Sindh Torture in Pakistan

Tando Bahawal incident

Hakimzadi and Zaibunissa

Court-martial

Compensation for families of victims

See also

References