Karzai vows action over tortured girl

President Hamid Karzai has said police will arrest members of a family accused of torturing and illegally detaining their son's teenage wife for the past six months while trying to force her into a life of crime.

After meeting senior security officials yesterday, Mr Karzai said that whoever used violence against 15-year-old Sahar Gul, who is recovering in a hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul, must be punished. According to police in north-eastern Baghlan province, Ms Gul's in-laws kept her in a basement for six months, ripped her hair out and broke her fingers.

AP