December 9, 2022

Man who ‘raped and murdered’ niece remanded in police custody

A judicial magistrate on Thursday granted five-day police remand of a man arrested for allegedly raping and murdering his niece in the Jacob Lines area.

Mujeebullah alias Nadeem has been booked on charges of sexually assaulting and murdering the 12-year-old girl within the remits of the Brigade police station on December 6. On Thursday, the investigating officer produced the detained suspect before the judicial magistrate (East) to seek his physical remand for questioning. The IO stated that the suspect was involved in the heinous crime and requested his remand for interrogation and completion of the investigation and other legal formalities.

The magistrate remanded the suspect in police custody until December 13 and directed the IO to produce him on the next date along with an investigation report. A case was registered at the Brigade police station under sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on a complaint filed by the victim’s father.

According to the FIR, the complainant, a gardener, stated that he left for work at 10am while his minor daughter was all alone in a locked house. He said that when he returned from work he found the door of the house open and his younger brother walking in the courtyard.

He said his brother told him that the girl had committed suicide and his body was lying in a room upstairs, adding that he took the girl to a hospital where doctors said she had been murdered after being sexually abused. The father alleged that his brother was involved in the crime and painted the incident as a suicide to cover it up.

Source: The News

December 9, 2022December 10, 2022

Teenage girl raped and murdered by father’s acquaintance

A couple of days after a 12-year-old girl was raped and killed by her uncle in Karachi’s Brigade area, another girl was sexually assaulted and murdered on Thursday in another heart-wrenching incident in the metropolis.

The latest tragedy occurred at a flat located in a residential apartment building near the meteorological department’s office within the jurisdiction of the Mobina Town police station. The body of the teenage girl was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for medico-legal procedings.

The 13-year-old was raped and killed allegedly by a suspect named Irfan, a plumber by profession. Following the horrific crime, the police investigated the incident and arrested the suspect. District East SSP Abdur Rahim Sherazi told The News that the deceased girl had two sisters, one of whom was married.

He said that the victim was home alone at the time of the incident. Her mother works at a hospital and her father works at a university, he added. “Irfan visited the house in the morning when she was alone and sexually assaulted her. After that the suspect killed her apparently by suffocating her with a pillow.”

Police said the suspect was an acquaintance of the victim’s father and had been visiting the house for work for some days. They said that when the suspect found the victim alone in the house, he took advantage of the situation and committed the crime.

Officials said that no case has been registered for now because they are waiting for the report of the teenage girl’s postmortem examination to come in. This horrific incident occurred just two days after a 12-year-old girl was raped and killed by her father’s brother at her house in the Lines Area neighbourhood.

The girl was sexually assaulted and then strangulated to death. Her postmortem examination was carried out at the JPMC, where the doctors confirmed that she was raped. Police said the culprit had tried to cover up his crime by claiming the girl had committed suicide. The victim’s uncle was arrested after her father filed a first information report against him.

Source: The News

December 9, 2022

Justice Ayesha Malik makes it to world’s 100 inspiring women list

ISLAMABAD: Justice Ayesha A. Malik, the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s first female judge, has been featured in the BBC’s 100 Women 2022 list.

The BBC Wednesday revealed names of 100 influential and inspiring women from around the world in its list for the year 2022 among which Justice Malik is the only Pakistani woman to have been featured.

“Women must build a new narrative — one that includes their perspective shares their experience, and includes their stories,” Justice Ayesha Malik said on being included on the revered list.

Earlier this year, the 56-year-old judge made history in Pakistan’s judicial system after being sworn in as the top court’s first female judge. “Justice Ayesha has been appointed on the basis of her merit,” the CJP said following the oath-taking ceremony. Her elevation to the apex court, however, gained immense appreciation from politicians, women rights activists and netizens in the country and abroad following her landmark judgements including the highly-lauded ban on the two-finger virginity test for victims of sexual assault which was outlawed in 2021.

In its praise for Justice Ayesha, the BBC wrote: “Alongside her role on the Supreme Court, Malik also conducts training for judges around the world and has inaugurated conferences for women judges in Pakistan, encouraging the debate around including the gender perspective in the justice system.” Justice Ayesha completed her education from schools in Paris, New York, and London, Karachi and Lahore.

Source: The News

December 9, 2022

Kermani stages drama on women flood victims

LARKANA: Famous classical dancer Sheema Kermani and her team of stage actors performed a short theatre titled Har sailaab say larnay wali at Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto Memorial Library on Thursday, depicting variety of issues woman faced in post-rain conditions.

Ms Kermani, who organised the theatre under the banner of Tehreek-i-Niswan, told journalists that the idea behind staging the short theatre was to tell people about the issues and problems, which women had to cope with in post-rain conditions.

She talked of discriminatory treatment meted out to women in almost all sectors of life and pointed towards insulting behaviour with flood-hit women during relief assistance.

She disclosed that over 1000 short theatres had been staged so far by her orgnisation for creating awareness about women’s issues. Her team had performed in Khairpur prior to Larkana and planned to go to Qambar, she said.

She said that feudalistic mindset in the male-dominated society had given birth to a plethora of problems for women and believed that society would only improve if women were accorded equal status.

The play was written jointly by Anwar Jafferi and Ms Kermani in which artists portrayed a variety of issues which woman confronted in society.

Source: Dawn

December 9, 2022

Home secretary, IGP summoned on plea against order to detain five men acquitted in Perween murder case

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday summoned the home secretary and inspector general of police in a petition challenging the detention order of five men issued under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960 despite their acquittal in the murder case of rights activist Perween Rahman.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha asked both the officials to appear in court on Dec 12 along with relevant material to justify the issuance of the impugned order.

Imran Swati, one of the acquitted persons, through his lawyer petitioned the SHC impugning the Dec 1, order issued by the home department on the recommendation of IGP for detention of all five men for a period of three months.

The lawyer for petitioner argued that the impugned order was malafide and there was no support of the same.

10 days after their release from prison, Sindh govt ordered police to arrest accused and detain them under MPO for 90 days

An additional prosecutor general, a deputy attorney general and an assistant advocate general waived the notice as they were present in courtroom in connection with some other cases.

The counsel for the petitioner undertook to provide a copy of the petition along with annexure to them during course of the day.

The bench directed the federal and provincial law officer as well as the additional prosecutor general to go through the same and file their comments without fail on the next hearing.

“The secretary, home department, government of Sindh and Inspector General of Sindh Police shall appear before this court on the next date of hearing along with relevant material which justified the issuance of the impugned order,” it added.

Ms Rahman, a renowned social worker and former head of the OPP, was gunned down near her office on Manghopir Road on March 13, 2013.

On Nov 21, the SHC had exonerated five appellants after overturning their conviction handed down by the trial court in Ms Rahman murder case.

An antiterrorism court had sentenced Rahim Swati, Amjad Hussain Khan, Ayaz Ali alias Swati and Ahmed Khan alias Pappu Kashmiri to life imprisonment in December 2021 after holding them guilty of facilitating, aiding and abetting the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan men for the murder of the rights activist.

The trial court had also handed down seven-year term to Imran Swati, son of Rahim, on charge of concealing evidence.

The jail authorities had released the accused persons a day after the judgement of SHC though the complainant had requested the provincial authorities to detain the accused persons under MPO Ordinance, 1960.

On Dec 1, the home department had issued an order on the recommendation of IGP stating that all the five men be arrested and detained for a period of 90 days under the MPO and their custody will be placed under the superintendent of the Karachi central prison.

It further said that the IG had communicated these five persons were hardened criminals who posed grave threat to the family specially her sister, Aquila Ismail, who was working as chairperson of OPP and the entire staff. But, they have so far not been arrested again.

Source: Dawn