80% acquittals in Islamabad’s rape trials
The accused in 80% of rape cases brought before the court in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) were acquitted, mainly due to faulty police investigation, lack of proper supervision of such cases by senior officials, weak prosecution and a widespread culture of out-of-court settlements.
A recently promulgated presidential order empowered all sessions judges to hold rape trials, however at present, the ICT has only one Additional District and Sessions Court judge, Justice Ata Rabbani, authorized to hear rape cases. Since January of 2021, Justice Rabbani has heard a total of 46 cases pertaining to rape, while over 200 incidents of sexual violence and kidnapping were reported in the first quarter of this year.
Lahore woman beaten by husband succumbs to injuries
One Anila, a resident of Shaukat Town near Ghazi Road, Lahore, was left critically injured after she was brutalized by her husband Shahzad following a domestic quarrel on Thursday, May 20. The accused fled the scene while the mother of three was shifted to a hospital, and succumbed to her wounds within hours.
Fight breaks out between inmates of Faisalabad jail
A fight broke out between inmates of Barrack 3 and Cell 2 of the district jail in Faisalabad some days ago.
According to reports, Barrack 3 inmates (some wielding clubs and pipes) stormed the detention area of the latter and began assaulting them. On April 23, one Abdul Ghani, a resident of Chak 433-GB in Samundri, killed another inmate of the district jail, Abid Ali. A case was registered against the accused on the complaint of jail authorities three days after the incident.
Relatives of the inmates of the district jail appealed to the Punjab government to launch a probe into the issue and appoint inquiry officers independent of the jail department to ascertain the facts behind this recent outbreak of violence.