KARACHI: Former president Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday strongly condemned the blackening of faces and parading of a couple in public in Gujranwala on orders of a local jirga, which summarily declared invalid their nikah. Zardari also demanded immediate arrest of the culprits and exemplary punishment to them under the law. The reports that more and more jirgas hold such unlawful courts and award barbaric punishments are most disgusting and call for stringent measures to curb this practice, said the former president in a statement issued from Islamabad on Sunday. He said that recently reports discussed of some so called religio-political outfits holding their own courts in parts of Punjab that went un-noticed by the authorities. This indifference of the authorities has encouraged the spreading of this evil to many more cities, towns and villages and is criminal, he added. Zardari said that he was deeply perturbed over increasing violence against vulnerable sections, women and non-Muslim minorities on one pretext or the other throughout the country. He said it has become customary for religious zealots to act as self declared guardians of public morality in the name of religion adding that it is an evil that must be curbed with iron hands. While expressing deep concern over the anti-women bias systematically being promoted by some elements in the country, Zardari asked party leaders to raise voice against such repulsive practices at all forums.