Day: October 30, 2012

By: Owais Jafri

MULTAN: Police on Monday arrested a man for allegedly setting his wife on fire, while his mother and sister, who allegedly abetted him, were put under house arrest.

The incident took place a week ago in Alipur, Muzaffargarh, after which the victim, Raheela Bibi, was taken to a hospital. She succumbed to her injuries at the hospital on Monday after which her father lodged an FIR against her husband, Muhammad Nadeem and his mother and sister.

Nadeem married his cousin Raheela Bibi five years ago and they had three children. However, they often quarrelled and Nadeem stopped Raheela from visiting her parents. On October 19, police said, when Nadeem came back from work, his mother and sister told him that Raheela had gone to her parents’ house without their permission.

Chaudhry Koomay Daan, Raheela’s father, said Nadeem called Raheela and told her to return. He also threatened to kill her if she did not return, he said. When she went back to her house, he said, Nadeem, his mother and sister beat her up. He said they tied her in the kitchen, threw kerosene oil on her and set her on fire.

He said the three fled the house. Some neighbours heard Raheela shout for help and rushed to her rescue. They informed her parents and took her to Alipur tehsil headquarters hospital, from where doctors referred her to the burn unit at Nishtar Hospital in Multan. Dr Zulfiqar Haider, medical superintendent at Alipur tehsil headquarters hospital, said the victim had suffered burns on 90 per cent of her body. Raheela succumbed to her injuries on Monday morning.

Police said the victim’s family had kept the matter quiet, but her father reported the incident to the police after she died.

Alipur City Station House Officer Faisal Chohan told The Express Tribune that the accused was arrested from a relative’s house. He said Nadeem’s mother and sister were sent back to their house, where they were put under house arrest. He said the body was sent for a post-mortem examination.

The victim’s father has taken custody of the couple’s three children. He has also demanded police add sections of anti-terrorism act in the FIR against Nadeem.

Homicide

In Vehari, a man killed his wife and two children and later committed suicide on Sunday. Police said Muhammad Panha Daha shot his wife Farhat, 22, son Umis, 2, and daughter Shanzay, 1. He later shot himself.

Some neighbours, who heard the gunshots, went inside their home and found the four bodies. Some neighbours told police that Daha, a school teacher, and his wife often quarrelled because he did not allow her to work. They said she would often go to her parents’ house after they quarrelled. She had returned home last week after the couple had fought over the issue again and later reconciled. Police said investigations were underway to identify the reason behind the homicides.

The Express Tribune

BAHAWALPUR: The College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, the Islamia University Bahawalpur, and the Hashoo Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to provide technical assistance for veterinary training to women in rural areas under a USAID project.

Hashoo Foundation Project Director Col (retd) Muhammad Sadiq held a meeting with IUB Vice Chancellor Prof Muhammad Mukhtar to finalise arrangements for the training programme. Mukhtar said the project would bring revolutionary changes in the lives of rural women. He said the project would also help improve the financial condition of all people living in a village covered by the project.

He said the IUB had been trying to improve the socio-economic condition of the area besides providing good opportunities for educational development. He said the IUB was committed to developing leadership qualities and community development through different methods. He said that under this programme, around 120 females of Bahawalpur and Yazman villages would be trained in livestock’s fodder and veterinary care.

Bahawalpur Desert Rangers Commander, Brig Saleem Qadir, IUB College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Principal Prof Abdul Samad, IUB Director Research Prof Muhammad Asghar Hashmi, science department Dean Prof Aftab Ahmed and other senior faculty members of the university attended the meeting.

The Express Tribune

By: Muhammad Sadaqat

MANSEHRA: A married woman was stripped and dragged in the street allegedly to pay for her brother’s actions, the victim told media persons on Monday. She was hospitalised with bruises and other injuries, hospital sources said.

At King Abdullah Hospital, Shirin Bibi*, 39, a resident of Matiyal village of Ghazikot, told media persons that she was home on Friday afternoon when Akbar*, his brother Feroz* and cousins Shahnawaz* and Farooq* barged into her house and started thrashing her. She said they tore apart her clothes and dragged her onto a nearby street where several villagers witnessed her “bitter humiliation”.

Some elderly villagers came to her rescue, urging the attackers from exposing her to public view. Paying no heed to their pleas, the accused punched and kicked her and hit her with rifle butts, leaving her unconscious, she narrated.

She said that the motive behind exposing her to public disgrace was the alleged elopement of her brother Samad* with the sister of one of the accused. She said the attackers wanted to avenge the disrespect that her brother had brought upon them.

Earlier, she lodged a First Information Report (FIR) with the Saddar Police Station. However, the police registered a case under section 354/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) which states that whoever assaults a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, shall be punished with imprisonment of up to two years with or without fine. On the other hand, the contents of her complaint indicate that the FIR should have been registered under section of 354-A of the PPC, which states that whoever assaults a woman and strips her, shall be awarded a death penalty or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.

District Police Officer Sher Akbar Khan said that the FIR was registered on the details of the complaint the victim lodged with the police. The police have registered a criminal case against five accused who are still at large.

The Express Tribune

By: Murtaza Ali Shah

LONDON: The Birmingham hospital treating Malala has defied political pressure from Pakistani and UK politicians who have inundated the hospital with requests for allowing them to meet Malala and pose with her for publicity images.

A source at the hospital confided to The News that dozens of requests have been received by the hospital from powerful politicians from Pakistan as well as some from the UK for media-ops but the hospital has turned down all such requests so far and have refused to treat requests from some of the most senior government figures.

The first video of Malala with her family was released on Monday in which the young girl is seen talking to her parents. The News is aware that “official meeting requests” from Pakistani and British government have been made, including a plea made by Malala’s father Ziauddin Yousufzai for an official meeting, but the hospital doctors are taking no chance and not buckling under the pressure.

A source at the hospital said: “We have never received so much interest for any patient. Requests for meeting have been flooding in from government figures, politicians, NGOs and media but we have the welfare of Malala on our minds. We will not expose her under any circumstances and we are glad she is recovering well.”

The News has learnt that the hospital is only allowing two hours to Malala’s family members to visit her, an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening but they are under strict health and safety guidelines while inside the ward Malala is making recovery, on way to the reconstruction surgery.

Some of the leading figures who have so far visited the hospital in Birmingham are Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, who spent Eid with Malala’s family in Birmingham on October 26th, Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Dr Farooq Sattar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Awamy National Party (ANP) Swat lawmaker Dr Haider Ali, and Pakistani’s High Commissioner to the UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, Emirati Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed, and Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik visited the hospital on Monday and met Dr David Rosser, the hospital’s Medical Director, and Ziauddin Yousufzai. They chatted with staff caring for Malala and were briefed by Dr Dave Rosser.

In a statement issued after the visit, the foreign secretary praised her courage. Hague said: “Malala’s swift and full recovery is our absolute priority but we are also determined to do all we can to champion education for women and girls in Pakistan. The people of Pakistan have paid a high price from terrorism and extremism. We will stand by all those who, like Malala, are courageously defending the rights of women, in Pakistan and around the world.”

Rehman Malik said he had visited the hospital to covey best wishes on behalf of the government and the whole Pakistani nation. Malik said: “Malala’s incident should not be seen in isolation. She is a symbol of courage and determination against the forces of extremist ideology. The attack on her was also meant to tarnish the true face of Pakistan and to discourage those struggling for human liberties and for the democratisation of our society.

Besides, she is a strong exponent of education, especially for girls. Let me reassure our international friends that such acts of cowardice will not deter us, and the whole Pakistani nation stands behind Malala and her cause. We will do whatever possible to counter obscurantist forces and to take Pakistan on the path of peace and moderation, as envisioned by our founding fathers.”

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed said the people of the UAE were appalled by what happened to Malala. “Malala’s courage inspires us to reinforce our commitment to rejecting ideologies rooted in intolerance and extremism. By helping Malala, whose courage we applaud, the UAE is also voicing its firm belief in the right of girls to education everywhere.”

Malala Yousafzai’s father on Saturday thanked President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani for the support provided to his daughter after the tragic Swat incident.

In an interview with journalists, after meeting his daughter at a Birmingham hospital, Ziauddin Yousufzai said he was happy to see his daughter and her improving health condition.He also thanked all those people who were concerned about Malala’s health and the support provided to her for promoting peace and education in Swat.

INP adds: Meanwhile, Rehman Malik said the authorities were searching for the main suspect Attaullah and others involved in the attack on Malala Yousafzai. The interior minister while talking to a US news channel said Malala’s attackers were identified within 24 hours.

Malik added that Malala and her parents could stay in the UK as long as need be and she would be provided foolproof security upon her return to Pakistan.

The News