November 27, 2024
By Bilal Baseer
ABBOTTABAD
Ayesha offers a prayer at the grave of her sister Maria Iqbal, whose life was brutally cut short in a horrifying act of domestic violence. Set on fire, allegedly by her husband and sister-in-law, Maria who was five months pregnant at the time, lingered at the edge of life for 11 days before she succumbed to her injuries. The family as well as the community are in shock since the murder.
The incident took place only with a year and a half of her marriage. Maria was a resident of Tajwal, Abbottabad, and had been married in September 2023. Now her mother Begum, is devastated and is pleading for justice.
“My daughter discovered an illicit relationship between Nadeem (her husband) and his sister-in-law (brother’s wife),” says Maria’s mother. “She could not tolerate it and told them that she would reveal everything. To silence her, they both conspired to set her on fire. My daughter was also pregnant at the time. Even when she was injured, she chose not to tell her father, as he has a weak heart, but did plan to take legal action against them once she recovered.”
Begum says that for 11 days Maria was in a hospital bed, teetering on the edge of life, in severe pain.
“I saw her condition, the wounds on her body — only I know the pain she endured,” cried her mother. “I just want justice for my daughter so that no other girl suffers like this.”
Maria’s father Muhammad Iqbal also expressed his despair, saying that he has little hope in the criminal justice system, due to the police’s flawed investigation and lack of interest which allowed the accused to obtain bail from court.
“The injustice done to my daughter…if had happened to anyone else’s daughter, they would not be able to live or die peacefully. I am in the same state…neither alive nor dead,” he lamented.
He said he begs for justice.
“Despite the severity of this crime involving two murders, the accused have been granted bail in a Section 302 (murder) case. How is this possible?” He demands a thorough re-investigation of the case. “Everyone should think of how they would feel if such cruelty was inflicted on their daughters and the perpetrators were granted bail like this. I plead for justice—nothing else matters to me now,” he said.
‘A Thorough Investigation’
After the complaint filed by Maria’s father, a murder case was registered at the Changla Gali police station under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code. At the same time the police claim that they conducted a thorough investigation according to law and procedure.
Imtiaz Khan, DSP Galiyat, shared details of the case, explaining that the accused were arrested and presented in court. However, due to delays in filing the FIR, the accused were granted post-arrest bail. Despite this, he expressed confidence that there is ample evidence and witnesses in the case, which will prevent the accused from escaping punishment. He refrained from discussing the latest court proceedings on camera, raising further concern about the delivery of justice in the case.
Local community leaders noted that this tragic incident has shaken them. They say that such acts are utterly unacceptable and called for serious measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Sardar Muhammad Suleman, a local councillor, says that awareness campaigns should be launched to bridge the communication gap caused by traditional conservative values between daughters and parents. This c an help ensure that young women feel safe sharing their concerns, reducing the likelihood of such incidents.
The local community demands that the accused in Maria’s murder case must be given strict punishment under the law to set an example. They also called upon human rights organisations and the government to organise counselling sessions in the area to address such inhumane incidents and work towards prevention.