Day: July 23, 2011

LAHORE: An Additional District & Sessions Judge on Friday sentenced a man to death for raping his teenage daughter.

Additional District & Sessions Judge Judge Muhammad Tahir Khan Niazi handed out the death sentence to Zia Majeed*, father of six, who was accused of raping his daughter, a high school student. Majeed claimed he had been implicated in a false case.

The complainant Nazia Farid told the judge that she had been separated from her husband, Majeed. She said she had been living with her mother and brother while her two daughters and four sons had been living with Majeed.

She said on May 18, 2009, her two brothers visited her husband’s house to try and reach a compromise. At about midnight her brothers heard her daughter cry out.

On May 20, 2009, she said, her daughter’s teacher called her to tell her that the child had reported being raped by her father.

Majeed told the court that he was innocent and had been implicated in a false case by his former wife. He said Farid and her brothers had plotted against him after he divorced her. He said his daughter was upset after announced her engagement against her wishes.

He told the court that he had registered an FIR against Farid and her brothers for attempting to abduct their children.

Sub Inspector Ghulam Murtaza of Kahna police who investigated the case had declared Majeed innocent. But after an application from the complainant’s side, the investigation was handed over to SP Jawad Qamar who found him guilty.

Source: The Express Tribune

Date:7/23/2011

SUKKUR: Four women and three men were killed over the pretext of karo-kari in three separate incidents on Friday.

Two women and two men were shot dead in Fazal Haq Buledi village in the Miranpur Buriro near Garhi Khero, Jacobabad district.

Kareem Bux Buledi with the help of his accomplices shot dead his wife Zarina, and his sister’s daughter Aisha at their house.

Then he came to a village street where he shot dead Shoukat Ali, and Eidan.

The police took the bodies of Shoukat and Eidan to a Garhi Khero hospital and those of Zarina and Aisha to Civil Hospital Jacobabad. The bodies were handed over to relatives after post-mortem.

Later, Kareem Bux surrendered at the Miranpur Buriro police station with the gun used in the crime. He confessed to have killed the four people and said that he had done so to save his honour as the two couples had illicit relations.

The police on the complaint of Rehmatullah Buledi, father of Shoukat, have registered an FIR against Karim Bux, Ali Bahar Buledi and Bashir Buledi.

Rehmatullah stated in the FIR that his innocent son had been killed by Karim Bux over old enmity.

Source: Dawn

Date:7/23/2011

By Latif Baloch

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly was on Friday informed that the government was preparing a report on women trafficking in the province and the consultant of the project would complete the report by next year.

Provincial Minister for Women Development Tauqeer Fatima Bhutto told legislators during the question hour in the house that the project’s total cost was Rs2 million while a sum of Rs372,000 had already been spent on tabulation and the consultant’s salary.

Replying to an MPA’s question about women hostels, she said establishment of hostels for working women in all districts were planned and the PC-1 for such a hostel in Karachi was being prepared. As soon the land for the project was made available to the department, the construction work would be started, she added.

MPA Aleem-ur-Rehman wanted to know the district-wise number of women welfare projects initiated during 2009 and 2010. In her written reply, the minister circulated the list, and answered various supplementary questions raised during the session.

In reply to a question regarding Sale, Display and Resource Centre, the minister said although it was established in 2005, it was made fully functional after 2008. The aim of setting up the centre was to facilitate the womenfolk from remote areas to put their products and skills on display for marketing purpose.

In reply to another question, she said that the government had already established a day-care centre in Karachi and planned to set up more in the province.

Responding to a question regarding women complaint cells, she said the cells were set up in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana and Benazirabad to provide legal aid to women in distress. A media cell was also established at the directorate of women development to ensure women’s access to information, she added.

Ms Bhutto informed the house that the baby child training programme had been launched at all district headquarters of the province as well as in all 18 towns of Karachi district. A total of 499 women had been trained to establish their own baby care centres, she said.

In reply to another question, the minister informed the house that around 1,800 women had benefited so under the Benazir Youth Development programme Some other projects which were undertaken by the department included shelters homes for women in all districts of Sindh, she said, adding that the government was also working on establishment of a women development complex at the divisional level.

She listed some other important projects as the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Programme, Sindh Women Economic Empowerment Project, Advocacy for Women Empowerment in Sindh, etc. She said the government also planned to extend assistance to women victims of violence and to organise mediation through the Karachi Centre for Dispute Resolution in all districts.

In reply to a question asked by Aleem-ur-Rehman, the minister said 27 women were appointed in her department during 2009. Of them, seven were working in the Karachi day-care centre, another four in Karachi’s women complaint cells and two each in Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur and Benazirabad.

Source: Dawn

Date:7/23/2011

MUZAFFARABAD: The AJK`s Chief Election Commissioner on Friday disallowed the nomination of an MQM candidate for the reserved seats for women on technical grounds besides rejecting objections against the candidature of a PML-N nominee for the women`s seat and a PPAJK`s candidate for the seat of a religious scholar.

According to Mohammad Younus Mughal, secretary Election Commission, Ms Nazmeen Kausar of the MQM had not only submitted her nomination paper one hour after the deadline of 2 pm on Thursday but it carried such names as proposer and seconder who had not been notified by the EC as MLAs-elect by that time.

Mr Mughal was referring to the MQM`s Tahir Khokar and Salim Butt who were notified as MLAs-elect at about 8 pm on Thursday.

He said Ms Kausar was supposed to annex the receipt of submission of asset details in the EC along with her nomination paper but instead she had attached asset details in what was violation of the laid down procedure.

The CEC also rejected an appeal against the eligibility of PML-N`s candidate Dr Fauzia Ashraf, declaring that her marriage to a non-state subject did not divest her of Kashmir citizenship. In all, four PML-N ladies have submitted their nominations but the party, which can easily clinch one out of five special seats reserved for women, has allotted its ticket to Ms Ashraf, who is wife of Dr Tahir Ali Javed, head of the “Unification Group” in the Punjab Assembly.

Ms Ashraf`s nomination was reported to have caused anger among some local aspirants from the PML-N but they had no option but to resign themselves to the decision of Sharif brothers who had taken it in view of their political requirements in the Punjab.

The PML-N candidate for the seat of religious scholar, Sahibzada Salim Chishti had challenged the eligibility of Pir Attiqur Rehman Faizpuri of the PPAJK on the grounds of his, what he claimed, fake academic (madrassah) certificates but the objections were turned down by the CEC.

Source: Dawn

Date:7/23/2011