By: Rizwan Shehzad
ISLAMABAD the National Commission for Human Rights (NHCR) has sought a report from Islamabad’s chief commissioner and inspector general of police over an application filed by a teenage woman, 18, who was allegedly forced into prostitution at a brothel in Sector I-10/1. While sending the woman to a shelter home, the NCHR Chairman Justice (retired) Ali Nawaz Chohan has sought replies from the commissioner and the IGP by May 26.
The directions have been issued in response to an application in which the woman has stated that her stepfather forced her to “indulge in prostitution for family earning.” She appeared before the chairman to explain her case and seek protection.
She told Chohan that the local station house officer (SHO) was directly “involved in this dirty business,” while that letter to the IGP and chief commissioner states that the “brothel…is allegedly being operated under eyes of the police.” As the “allegations raise an important human rights issue with respect to the said area of Islamabad, the matter is brought to your notice for investigation at senior level without involving the [area] police,” the letter added. The NCHR chairman also wrote that he expects a “full inquiry on the subject.” A copy of the letter has also been sent to the interior secretary.
