Between harb and jihad

Conspiracy theories about who killed Benazir Bhutto abound, which have only been further fuelled by Pervez Musharraf's feeble attempts to downplay the obvious security lapse that took place. Official sources were quick to point the finger at al-Qaeda, and named Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the recently constituted Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, as the perpetrator behind the attack. Baitullah's response was just as swift, with his spokesman denying any involvement, and adding for good measure that "tribal people have their own customs – we don't strike women."

This short statement raises a handful of interesting, and crucial, questions. First, one has to assume that the spokesman was referring to killing during a period of conflict or jihad, for the Taliban in Afghanistan (presumably the role models for the Pakistani Tehrik) had been known to carry out judicial executions of women. But what of the mass killings that are perpetrated as a result of suicide attacks that typically occur in crowded areas, for which the Taliban have at times taken credit? Extremist elements have been quick to label, and justify, such incidents as mere manifestations of jihad. But do the killers only target areas frequented by men? Or does the decree against the killing of women only refer to targeted killing – in that female casualties as 'collateral damage' are acceptable, but to target a woman for execution, even during a period of war, is not?