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| India-Pakistan |
| Rape, Vani victim seeks case against punchayat members |
| 2006-04-24 |
| MULTAN: Rape victim Qureshian Bibi of Chak No 61/SP in Arifwala tehsil has filed an application with the Pakpattan district police officer for registration of a case against a local jury of Punchayat members who allegedly solemnised her nikkah with the brother of the alleged rapist. Qureshian told reporters on Sunday that her cousin, Muhammad Aslam, raped her at gunpoint two months ago. She said he had threatened her with dire consequences if she breathed a word about it. “When I got pregnant, I told about the incident to my sister, Razia Bibi, and father, Nazir Ahmad, who tried to report it to the police,” she said and added that an influential landlord convened the punchayat, which solemnised her nikkah with the brother of the accused, Muhammad Ramzan. However, she has refused to marry him. She said that she had insisted on registering a case against the accused. On this, she said, punchayat members Habib, M Zaman Wattoo, M Sharif Wattoo, M Tufail Wattoo and Maulvi Yaqoob also solemnised the nikkah of the daughter of the accused, Saadia, 3, with her brother, Muhammad Ramzan as vani. She said the punchayat members had also threatened that her family’s lives would be in danger and their household articles would be confiscated if they did not accept the decision. Qureshian and her father filed a petition in the Lahore High Court to register a case against Aslam and the punchayat members, but they were asked to file the same before the ASJ Arifwala. On this, the police registered the case against Aslam, but not the punchayat. Arifwala Saddar SHO Syed Shahid Abbas Shah has registered an attempt to rape case against two brothers and a brother-in-law of the rape victim on the statement of Ume Kalsoom, the wife of Aslam, apparently in an attempt to stop them from litigation. |
| Posted by:Fred |