ISLAMABAD,January 30,2005:Pakistan Medical Association on January 29 demanded immediate arrest of the members of a jirga that had decreed death for lady doctor Shazia Khalid to restore their “lost Honour”.

The lady doctor had been allegedly criminally assaulted by an army officer and his colleagues in Sui on January 2.

Talking to mediapersons at Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club, PMA President Dr Umar Ayub Khan demanded of the government to employ all investigative methods, including recording of circumstantial evidence, DNA test and other procedures, to establish the crime.

He, however, appreciated the arrest of four suspects namely one senior officer of the Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), two doctors and one army captain after 26 days of the incident and demanded that they should be hanged publicly as a deterrent to others.

Dr Umar Ayub claimed that the husband and family members of the lady doctor had informed the Karachi PMA office that the jirga in Gombut Khairpur (Sindh) had passed a verdict to immediately kill the lady doctor in a bid to restore their “lost honour”.

Cases under Section 307 (intent to kill) under Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) should be registered against the jirga members, he demanded. “If the jirga members are really men of conscience then they should kill those who have raped the lady doctor instead of killing the doctor,” he said. He also asked the commission on Sui rape case to complete its probe within the stipulated time.

The lady doctor had recently recorded her statement on the basis of which four persons were arrested. A medical examination of the lady doctor has also been conducted.

Dr Umar Ayub also demanded action against those PPL officers who had tried to paint the incident as an attempted robbery and said security personnel should also be grilled.

He appreciated President Pervez Musharraf for taking personal interest in the matter and pledged to continue their campaign till the culprits were brought to justice.
Source: Dawn
Date:1/30/2005