Day: November 30, 2012

By: Tanveer Ahmed

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Human Rights on Thursday formed a sub-committee to probe the alleged sexual harassment of a former female employee of Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) by a retired lieutenant colonel.

The NA committee, which met under MNA Riaz Fatyana, took up the case on an application by Sadia Sibtain who alleged that Lt Col (r) Daud Pervez Malik of PEC terminated her job when she did not fulfil his “wish”.

The committee recorded statements of both the victim and accused separately and later decided to probe the matter through its sub-committee, headed by MNA Kashmala Tariq, alongside the women’s ombudsman who has been also investigating the matter.

Sadia Sibtain broke down into tears while narrating the incident. She told the committee that when she did not submit herself to personal whims of Daud Pervez, she had to pay the price in form of losing the job.

She alleged that gestures and conduct of Daud Pervez were so embarrassing for her that she could not tolerate all this. He had even started asking me private questions, she alleged.

Daud Pervez said that allegations against him are “baseless” and “untrue”, adding that Sadia Sibtain had been fired because her performance was not up to the mark during the prohibition period of her service as receptionist.

Committee members also objected to the inclusion of Khadim Hussain Bhatti in the inquiry committee whom Sadia Sibtain accused of having close relations with Daud Pervez. The committee also took up the killing of Shias in Babusar Pass a few months ago. The committee was requested to constitute a seven-member joint task force to probe matter.

MNA Riaz Fatyana said the seven-member joint task force should be consisted of officials from the army, Hazara Police, Gilgit-Baltistan Police, Frontier Constabulary, ISI, IB and SPARCO with interior additional secretary being its focal person. The committee should submit its findings in three months, he added.

The committee, which summoned the Hazara commissioner, Hazara DIG and Mansehra SSP, discussed the issue at length.

“This [killings] is the same Shia-Sunni conflict roots of which can be traced back to Ziaul Haq era,” Hazara Commissioner Khalid Khan Umerzai told the committee. Umerzai said that assailants have been identified but expressed his inability to apprehend them, saying that they are living in the jurisdiction of Gilgit-Baltistan.

The committee said that all those who have been identified as responsible for the gruesome act should be arrested immediately. The committee also pointed out lack of coordination between GB, Hazara Police and FC which, it added, has resulted in failure of arrest of the assailants.

Later, the committee tasked the KP governor’s inspection team with probing irregularities in distribution of compensation amount among victims of of sectarian violence in Kurram Agency. The issue was raised by MNA Munir Khan Orakzai who stated that Rs 1.70 billion had been allocated by the prime minister for victims of sectarian violence in the agency.

Daily Times

HYDERABAD: The provincial government will provide free legal aid to female prisoners, said the minister for women’s development, Tauqeer Fatima Bhutto, after visiting the women’s ward at the central prison in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

According to the jail’s superintendent, Syeda Munawara Sultana, the Hyderabad Central Prison has 29 female prisoners.

While speaking to the media, the minister mentioned that the jail administration has been asked to submit a report on the cases awaiting a hearing. Members of her department will collect information from these prisoners and will arrange for lawyers to plead these cases, she claimed. She also mentioned that separate arrangements had been made for the children of these women.

The Express Tribune

KARACHI: Taking note of news reports about jirgas in Sindh ordering barter of girls to settle personal disputes, Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has taken suo motu notice and ordered the Sindh advocate general to submit his report. A three-member apex court bench will initiate proceedings today.

Jirgas are assemblies of community elders that take decisions by consensus, particularly among the tribal people, to settle disputes within the communities. Earlier this week, illegal tribal courts had ordered giving four girls to the rival communities to settle personal enmities.

A tribal elder, Abdul Wahab Jatoi, held a jirga to settle a “karo-kari” case in Momin Jatoi village in Shikarpur. Waheed Jatoi had accused his relative of having illicit relations with his wife. The woman was killed allegedly by her husband four months ago but the suspect had been in hiding since then.

Earlier this week

The jirga found the defendant guilty of the charges and ordered him to marry off his two sisters and a niece to the complainant’s three sons. The girls are aged between six and eight years.

A separate jirga had ordered the marriage of a 13-year-old girl to a 50-year-old father of seven children, Ajan Odh, to settle a dispute in Pir Jo Goth, Khairpur.

The Suo moto

Four months ago, a Hindu couple had married of their freewill without their families consent. Headed by a community elder, Rahib Odh, the tribal court handed over a minor girl from the family to the aged complainant.

The suo motu comes in the wake of increasing media reports about the parallel judicial system running in the country. Previously, the Chief Justice of Pakistan has notably taken notice “on own motion” Karachi violence and the missing persons case.

The Express Tribune

Karachi: A man was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday after he was found guilty of kidnapping, raping and murdering a minor girl in 2006. Additional District and Sessions Judge (East) Nadeem Ahmed Khan awarded two separate 25-year sentences – one for kidnapping and the other for rape and murder – to a man named Irshad.

Besides the prison term, the court also decided to fine the convict Rs160,000 for the crimes he committed against five-year-old Tajalee, the daughter of Zahid Barkat Shah. According to the law, the convict was liable to be awarded a total of 50 years imprisonment for his heinous acts.

The girl’s father had lodged a case against the convict in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar police station in 2006. He told the cops that his daughter had been kidnapped and murdered by Irshad over a personal enmity.

The convict confessed to the crime when he was interrogated by the police and the dead body of the girl was located based on directions given by Irshad. He recorded his confessional statement before the court, saying that the girl was kidnapped to settle old scores with her father, Zahid Barkat Shah. He admitted to kidnapping and sexually assaulting the minor girl. Irshad added that he feared arrest and killed the five-year-old to cover up his crime.

War Against Rape (WAR) Karachi scored another legal victory in the rape and murder case of five-year old girl, Taj, reported in October 2006.

The organisation, in a statement, appreciated the tireless efforts of its lawyers Advocate Farida Moten and Advocate Asia Muneer who along with Deputy District Public Prosecutor Muhammad Yunus fought the legal battle.

In October 2006, Baby Taj was going to a shop near her house in Gulistan-e-Johar, when she was kidnapped by Mohammad Irshad, with the help of Wali Muhammad. Both the men lived in the same neighbourhood.

Irshad took the child to an empty plot nearby, where he first raped and then brutally murdered her. Taj’s body was found 2 days later, and in a deformed stage.

The accused was identified with the help of Taj’s friend who knew that Irshad used to speak to her. On the 29th of November 2012, Districts and Sessions Judge Nadeem Ahmed Khan, pronounced the accused guilty, and sentenced him as follows: i) To serve life imprisonment and pay Rs100,000 fine, on the count of Murder u/s 302 PPC; ii) To serve life imprisonment and pay a fine of 50 000/ fine, on the count of rape u/s 10 (2) RW 365-B PPC; iii) to serve imprisonment of 5 years and a fine of 10 000/-, on the count of kidnapping u/s 363 PPC.

The News

By: Mushtaq Yusufzai

MINGORA: Undeterred by the October 9 gruesome assassination attempt on Malala Yousafzai by the Maulana Fazlullah-led Taliban, the two girl students, Shazia Ramzan and Kainat Riaz, injured with Malala, Thursday resumed their studies and vowed to work for continuation of the heroic mission their friend had launched in Swat valley for promoting female education.

It was first day of the two students in Khushal Public School and College in Shareefabad locality of Mingora city, run by Malala’s father Ziauddin Yousafzai.On their arrival in the school, Shazia and Kainat were received by their teachers and students with warm welcome.

Personnel of the Swat elite police force escorted an auto-rickshaw in which Shazia and Kainat were brought to the school. They were focus of media attention and a large number of local people gathered near the school and later in the streets near their houses.

“I am so excited today as I had no idea whether I will be able to go to school again,” remarked 13-year old Shazia Ramzan, a student of 8th class.Talking to The News here in her rented home, she said she was no doubt very happy on her first day in the school but they really missed Malala Yousafzai in the school.

Shazia had suffered serious bullet injuries on her chest and hand. She doesn’t understand as to why the attacker fired two bullets on her when he fired only a single shot on Malala.

“It was terrible day of my life. As usual we sat in the vehicle and left for the home. I was sitting next to Malala. After stopping the vehicle by a bearded young person, he came to us and asked which one is Malala. We remained quiet and looked towards Malala. He pulled out a pistol and fired a bullet on her head. She fell in middle of the vehicle and then he fired two shots at me. I didn’t realise I was shot at my chest as I only saw my hand bleeding. It was later when I was taken to the hospital where I felt severe pain in my chest,” Shazia recalled.

She said though it was an ugly episode of their life, the October 9 attack on them gave her and other girl students of the valley an extra courage and inspiration to campaign for girls’ education. Shazia said she was shifted to CMH Peshawar next day as her bleeding didn’t stop where she remained for a month. Shazia said she didn’t expect such an unprecedented reaction to the attack on them.

Her father Mohammad Ramzan, who originally belongs to Muzaffargarh in Punjab, said he was proud of his daughter.“The way she handled this incident made me proud on her courage,” Ramzan said.He has nine children, five sons and three daughters. He came to Swat in 1983 and opened a bakery in Mingora city.

Then in 1990 he shifted his family to Swat and all his children are born in the valley. All his children are very fluent in Pashto with Swati accent.Another girl, Kainat Riaz, student of 10th grade, had suffered bullet injury on her right arm.“Today I am very much excited to resume my studies once again in the school but will definitely Miss Malala,” Kainat said.

Her father Riaz Ahmad said they wanted Kainat to take some rest and avoid attending classes but they had changed their mind after her class fellows forced her to start coming to the school.“The students and class fellows of Kainat used to come to our home to enquire about her health and they wanted her to come to the school,” he said.

The News