3 of 20 accused in Mirpurkhas gang rape booked
Police on Tuesday produced three of the 20 suspects involved in the alleged abduction and gang rape of two girls, one of them a minor, before a local court and obtained three-day’ remand. The survivors, one aged 19 and married and the other 14, had accused some of suspects, whom they identified by name, of subjecting them to sexual assault.
According to police and local media, the incident came about as a result of a row over a free-will marriage between the Tungri and Rajput clans of Hanif Rajput village in the Naokot area of Sindh’s Mirpurkhas district. Reportedly, a married Tungri woman had eloped with a Rajput man some time ago, and went into hiding.
On Sunday, some two-dozen men of the Tungri clan broke into the home of a Rajput family in Nafees Naqar, looted cash and valuables, and kidnapped a young woman and her minor sister-in-law. Both girls were recovered from the home of one Hayat Tungri by police in a raid on Monday.
The victims claimed they had been tortured and gang-raped by some of their captors, and accused ASI Gulzar Tungri of aiding the suspects as they had been first taken to his residence before being shifted to Hayat Tungri’s house. On Tuesday, nine more suspects were arrested while the hunt for the others is still on going.
Man murders sister for “honour” in Jhang
Police on Tuesday registered a case against two for shooting dead a 26-year-old woman under the pretext of honour in Chak 280-JB, Jhang district.
According to Ali Hussain, his brother Saddam Hussain suspected their sister Sumera of having an affair. She was visiting her family while on leave from the bank she worked at. On the day of the incident, she went with Saddam on his motorcycle to pay their sister a visit. He instead took her to a graveyard where a cousin, Gulfam, was waiting for them.
The complainant stated that the accused shot dead his sister and then began digging a pit to bury the body when they were spotted by passersby. Upon being confronted, the two fled on Saddam’s motorcycle.
Police recovered the body from the crime scene and surrendered it to its heirs after the post-mortem examination. A case has been lodged under provisions of murder and concealing evidence, and police have launched raids to apprehend the accused.
Call for 33% seats for women in LG bodies
Speakers at a consultation session “Role of Women in the Local Government, Sindh” held on Monday at a Karachi hotel called for 33 percent reserved seats for women in local government (LG) organizations.
The consultation was organized by the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) in collaboration with the Sindh Commission on the Status of Women (SCSW), Haqooq-e-Pakistan, and Bardasht.
Speakers held that women’s participation in local government was essential as those working in grassroots activities are better involved and aware of local grievances. They urged that local government should also reserve 33 percent seats for women just as in the National and Provincial Assemblies.
Participants expressed hope in the Supreme Court’s directives to the Sindh Government to empower local government bodies by reworking the relevant laws, however the Provincial Government has shown an unwillingness to do so.
The consultation also recommended abolishing the jirga system, holding local body meetings in the mandatory presence of a female councilor, and holding re-elections for seats vacated by women or transgender officials from the same community.
