Day: April 21, 2009

By Iqbal Khwaja

THATTA:A young woman was deprived of a huge amount in the name of providing a lucrative job by a close relative of a provincial minister.

According to documents collected by Dawn, a young jobless lady Asiya Naz d/o Mohammed Athar, a resident of Karachi, met the minister in his office with a request for a job.

The minister directed the applicant and her mother to be in touch with his first cousin who reportedly demanded Rs500,000 for getting her a job. The lower middle class family of Asiya arranged the required amount by selling her ornaments and gave it to the man. She kept on pursuing him in search of job.

After some time, the minister’s cousin delivered an appointment letter allegedly issued out of (President House quota) in which there were five other names as well, and on number five, was the name of Ms Asiya Naz.

The letter bearing No. f-admin91/08 dated 26/09/2008, and signed by one Dilawar Shah, Deputy Chief Admin Officer, (Finance and Accounts).

This letter was followed by an offer letter as a management trainee issued by Oil and Gas Development Corporation’s Personnel Department (recruitment section) Masood Mansion Markaz Islamabad, signed by one Aijaz Mohammed Khan Chief Personal Officer, OGDC, Islamabad.

She was directed to appear for joining and also for medical examination by the Chief Medical Officer at OGDC Medical Centre located at 3-D, F-8 Markaz Islamabad in February 2009. The girl reached the above address and delivered the letter to the officer.

However, it proved shocking to her when all the letters were declared fraudulent, false and fictitious. She was told that there was no ‘Presidential Quota’ and these letters were fictitious.

The dejected, depressed and deprived young lady returned to Karachi, and with her mother went to the office of the minister and narrated the entire ordeal to him.

He told her that if the man had given a fraudulent offer letter, he would ask him to return the money.

After this admission by the minister, Asiya and her mother continued to meet the minister’s cousin to return her money.

The matter kept on lingering and the woman threatened to commit self-immolation in front of the residence of the minister and his cousin at their locality situated in Memon Moahalla, Thatta.

Later, the man returned Rs2,00,000 cash to the woman. Afterwards, Aziz gave a cheque (No. 679387) of Account Number 2760-9 of MCB Thatta branch and promised the remaining payment later on. It was another shock for the family when the cheque bounced and could not be cashed.

On insistence of repayment of her remaining amount of Rs300,000, the family was being threatened of dire consequences.

The family of Ms Asiya has demanded intervention of President Asif Ali Zardari, prime minister, Sindh chief minister, IG Police Sindh and also sought protection of the family which was being threatened by the minister and his cousin.

When approached for comments, the minister said that “I am not aware of anything about the subject” and added that “please provide documentary evidence, if any, so as to ascertain the facts on my part”.
Source: Dawn
Date:4/21/2009

By Javed Aziz Khan

PESHAWAR:A woman member of the National Assembly (MNA) from the provincial capital will take up the issue of the gang rape of a teenage girl in her village and avoidance of registration of first information report by the police with President Asif Ali Zardari, a source disclosed. The incident occurred in Kanday Arbaban of Tehkal village, the native town of Federal Communication Minister Arbab Alamgir. Alamgir’s spouse, Asma, a vocal member of the National Assembly, was angry at the incident and delaying tactics used by the cops of Tehkal Police Station in registering an FIR. A senior police official of the capital city hinted at taking strict action against the station house officer (SHO) concerned and other staff if they had avoided the registration of the FIR.

Saeedur Rahman, a resident of the Kanday Arbaban in Tehkal, had approached the police concerned on Sunday with a complaint that his 14-year-old daughter, Seema, was gang-raped by armed men, who broke into their single-room mud-house at around 1:30 am. The poor family, originally from Tangi district of Charsadda, lives in a single-room house in Kanday Arbaban. Apart from Saeed, the eight-member family includes his wife, four daughters and two sons.

The victim girl, in her teens, is the eldest among sisters. Her father is a poor labourer while her mother works in the house of a well-off family. Seema appeared before a judicial magistrate on Monday to record her statement. The cops did not let the victim and her family members to talk to the media. “I was abused by six to seven people after they put a cloth in my mouth so that I could not cry. I don’t know any of them but if the government failed to provide me justice, I myself would search for those beasts,” stated a visibly shocked Seema.

The case took a new twist on Monday when Habibur Rahman, a real uncle of the victim, and his two sons, Kifayat and Hidayat, were charged in the case. “One of the two charged cousins had proposed Seema for marriage but the family had rejected the proposal. They wanted to avenge the refusal and for that they decided to molest the girl,” a police official claimed, adding that raids were being conducted and the accused would be arrested soon.

“After breaking into our house and holding the entire family hostage at gunpoint, the attackers collected Rs175,000 cash, 16 prize bonds of Rs1,500 denomination, one tola of gold and two cellular phones before assaulting Seema,” Saeed had told the police on Sunday. It was learnt that the poor labourer had got the money after selling his family house in Tangi. As the FIR was registered after almost 16 hours, the medical test of the victim was also conducted quite late at the Khyber Teaching Hospital where, according to sources, it was found that the girl was abused by more than four persons. Another examination was conducted in the Khyber Medical University, and the result is expected today (Tuesday).
Source: The News
Date:4/21/2009

By Salis bin Perwaiz

Karachi:A strange incident was reported in the Baldia police limits, when four bearded suspects attempted to kidnap a minor girl. The girl, however, was rescued by the timely action of a shopkeeper. An Investigation Officer (IO) said that the girl belonged to a middleclass family and residents of the area have refused to record their statements.

The would-be victim was identified as 10-year-old Saba, a resident of Anjam Colony, Baldia-4 1/2. Her father, Mohammed Hussain, drives a Suzuki pick-up in Jodia Bazaar to earn his living.

Hussain said that he came home late at night after he finished work. He asked his wife about the school admission of his two children – Saba and eight-year-old Sheyan. His wife told him that she went to a school situated near Kausar Chowk, Baldia. She met the teachers and administration officers of the school who interviewed the children and agreed to give them admission. Later, she told Saba and Sheyan to go home because she had to find out about their books, uniforms and fees.

When she reached home, Saba and Sheyan told her that on their way home, Sheyan stopped at Rafiq General Store, situated near their house to buy something, and Saba waited outside. Meanwhile, a white-bearded old man came to her and told her to put her dupatta on her head. Right after this, the man suddenly put Saba’s dupatta on her face and tried to kidnap her.

Sheyan saw this and started shouting for help. Rafiq, the shopkeeper, came to her rescue, and slapped the old man in the face. While this was going on, three people in a black car approached them, and the old man rushed towards the car and escaped.

Hussain confirmed the incident with his daughter, and then registered a complaint at the Baldia police station. The police have lodged an FIR.

The IO said that the case was not yet clear. The family was not financially sound, and the police were therefore not sure if the suspects had attempted to kidnap the girl for ransom. The IO further said that the streets in the area where the suspects attempted to kidnap Saba were so narrow that it would take time for any person driving a vehicle to escape. Meanwhile, investigators have made a sketch of the suspect. Further probe is under way.
Source: The News
Date:4/21/2009

LAHORE:A young man shot dead his sister and a niece allegedly in the name of honour in D-Block of Green Town on Monday.

The police said Shahnaz, 35, and Farah, 19, received several bullets and died on the spot.

They said suspect Zulfikar, an employee of a clinic in the Defence area, had an argument with his sister, Shahnaz, and niece Farah, both unmarried, when he objected to their character. The police arrested the accused from the spot.

Sadar division SP Mansoorul Haq said initial interrogation with family members revealed that Zulfikar on Monday morning had forbidden his sister and niece from going out of the house. He said both sides had heated arguments after Shahnaz objected to her brother‘s warning. The accused got infuriated, picked up a licenced rifle and opened fire, killing them on the spot.

The bodies were shifted for autopsy. The police have registered a case against Zulfikar on the complaint of his brother, Jafar.

In another incident, a mother of two was stabbed to death allegedly by her husband following a domestic issue near Sharif Market in the Factory Area.

The police said 30-year-old Aasia of Dhalla Stop, Liaquatabad, was married to Umer of Islamnagar some 15 years ago and had two mentally challenged daughters. They said the couple often used to quarrel over domestic disputes.

On Monday, they again had a quarrel as a result of which Umer broke a soft drink bottle and attacked his wife. Aasia received a fatal wound in her torso. The accused locked his wife in a room and raised an alarm that she had committed suicide. After the family members informed the police about the sour relations between the couple, the police took Umer into custody for killing his wife.

The body was shifted for a post-mortem examination.
Source: Dawn
Date:4/21/2009

SAHIWAL:The seven-year-old son of a divorcee was burnt alive while she was herself in critical condition after her lover poured kerosene and torched them at Chak 54/5-L (Yousafwala).

Reports said that Shahida Parveen, 30, who was divorced by her husband Afzal about a year back, was working as maid along with his son Danish in different houses.

Eyewitness said she had developed relations with Irfan alias Vena of Gamber village some months back. Last week, they had a quarrel over some issue and Shahida banned the entry of Irfan into her mud house.

On Monday, Irfan along with his friend entered her house and threw kerosene on Shahida and her son and torched them. As a result, Danish was burnt alive while Shahida received serious burn wounds. Neighbours shifted Shahida to Mayo Hospital, Lahore, where her condition was stated to be critical.

Yousafwala police have registered a case against Irfan on the report of Shahida’s mother Sahib Bibi.
Source: Dawn
Date:4/21/2009