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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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                        <description>The Express Tribune keeps you up to date with all the latest happenings from Pakistan and across the world!</description>
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			<title>Seeking justice: ‘Rape victim’ threatens self-immolation</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/1007849/seeking-justice-rape-victim-threatens-self-immolation</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/1007849/seeking-justice-rape-victim-threatens-self-immolation#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Dec 15 17:56:52 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=1007849</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Victim says the culprits have so far extorted over Rs1.5 million from her]]>
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				<![CDATA[The victim of an alleged gang-rape has threatened to commit suicide by self-immolating in front of the Prime Minister’s House in protest against the police failure to arrest her alleged rapists even after seven months.


The victim, a resident of Bhimber, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, narrated her ordeal to the media at the National Press Club on Thursday that while she was going to  see a doctor in Pindi Janjua area in Bhimber, when Haroon Rashid and Jamil Shafi waylaid her and dragged her into bushes and gang-raped her.

She also claimed that her alleged rapists also filmed their crime and later blackmailed her threatening her to upload it on the internet if she told anyone.

According to her, the culprits have so far extorted over Rs1.5 million from her.

She said that the accused were influential and threatening her of dire consequences if she pursued the case.

She said that she sought help from the local police but they were reluctant to arrest the suspects. She also told the media that as a last resort she has landed in Islamabad to seek justice from high ups.

She said that the only option she has left with was to commit suicide if her tormentors were not arrested.

The victim also said that her husband has become mentally upset as a result of the incessant harassment by the suspects.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2015.]]>
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			<title>College student raped in Haripur</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/1007892/brushed-under-the-carpet-college-student-raped-in-haripur</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/1007892/brushed-under-the-carpet-college-student-raped-in-haripur#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 10 Dec 15 21:55:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[muhammad.sadaqat]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=1007892</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[DSP says no case registered against accused]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A college student was allegedly raped by two employees of Government Postgraduate Girls College Haripur on Thursday. An insider familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune, the student was pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Government Postgraduate Girls College Haripur. She lived at the institute’s hostel.

“On Wednesday, at around 3pm, the woman was in her hostel room when Shahid, one of the college’s guards, went to the warden’s office,” the insider said. “He asked the warden to send the woman to the guestroom, saying her brother had come to visit her.”

Headmaster suspended for ‘raping student’

However, when the college student went outside, Shahid – with the help of college’s plumber Naeem – reportedly dragged her to a room and sexually abused her. The woman brought the matter to hostel warden’s notice, who subsequently confirmed the incident through CCTV footage.

“The warden informed Nasira Bano, the principal of the college, who was in Peshawar at that time for an official meeting,” the insider added.

However, the matter was hushed up, until Thursday morning. “A report is yet to be registered,” he said. “No medical examination of the victim was conducted.”

Seeking justice: 16-year-old rape survivor demands justice, protection

When contacted, Bano was not available for comment. However, one of her colleagues confirmed the incident.

“However, Bano’s colleague said it has yet to be determined whether the woman was raped or sexually harassed,” he said.

Two college officials have been suspended from their duties following disciplinary action and an internal enquiry has been launched against them.
When contacted, Haripur DSP Ishtiaq Khan said the matter is under investigation. However, no one has approached the police as yet to register a criminal case against the accused.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th,  2015.]]>
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			<title>Police arrest rape, murder suspect in Karachi</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/931055/police-arrest-rape-murder-suspect-in-karachi</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/931055/police-arrest-rape-murder-suspect-in-karachi#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 15 15:20:32 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[faraz.khan]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=931055</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Accused will be produced before a court on Monday]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Police on Sunday claimed to have arrested a teenage suspect from Karachi who allegedly dumped the body of a seven-year-old girl after sexually assaulting her. 

19-year-old Abid Hussain was arrested by investigation wing of the Sachal police from his residence in Janal Goth, Sohrab Goth. He is accused of killing a minor girl after sexually assaulting her.

The body of the minor girl was found near her residence on Friday.

After initial medical examination, police and doctors confirmed the girl was sexually assaulted before being murdered as her body bore torture marks.

Read: Seven-year-old girl raped, killed

The girl went missing from her house in Abdullah Shah Ghazi at around 9.30pm on Thursday night, and her body was found by the family in a ditch surrounded by bushes.

A case was registered at Sachal police station.

“We spent day and night to trace the culprit and finally after questioning and detaining a number of people, we succeeded in tracing him,” explained DSP Khalid Khan while talking to The Express Tribune.

Read: Crime and impunity: Villagers protest police inaction on rape complaint

The accused lived in Janjal Goth but would visit Abdul Shah Ghazi Goth as his paternal uncle lived there.

“He knew the girl. On Thursday the accused saw the girl, took her away with him on a motorcycle and subjected her to rape,” citing what the suspect said, the officer explained.

“After subjecting her to rape, he tortured her to death as he had feared she would inform her family about the incident.”

The accused will be produced before a court on Monday, added the officer.]]>
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			<title>Indian man confesses to multiple child murders: police</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/923194/man-confesses-to-rape-killed-15-children-in-indias-capital</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/923194/man-confesses-to-rape-killed-15-children-in-indias-capital#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 20 Jul 15 08:51:16 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=923194</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ravinder Kumar has confessed to assault and murder of 14 or 15 children over last few years]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Indian police said Monday they are investigating whether a man arrested for the murder and sexual assault of a six-year-old girl may have been a serial child killer after he confessed to 14 more crimes.

Ravinder Kumar made the confession after he was arrested in New Delhi on Thursday, Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police Vikramjeet Singh told AFP.

Singh said police questioned the 24-year-old labourer after discovering he had been detained in a separate assault case last year and released on bail.

Read: Robbers 'gang-raped' elderly Indian nun: police

"We specifically arrested Ravinder Kumar over the assault and murder of a six-year-old girl," he said. "After we realised that he had previously been arrested in a similar case, we interrogated him... and he told us of at least 14 other cases."

A police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said Kumar had confessed to the "assault and murder of 14 or 15 children over the last few years".

"We are in the process of ascertaining all his claims and separate teams are looking at every claim," the officer told AFP.

The case has drawn comparisons with the gruesome discovery in 2006 of the dismembered bodies of 19 people in sewage drains near a house in Noida, a satellite city of the Indian capital.

Many of the victims in that case — dubbed the "house of horrors" — were children abducted from the poor neighbourhood of Nithari nearby.

Parents of the victims later said police had not taken them seriously when they initially reported their children missing because they were poor.

Police arrested Kumar after finding his identity card at a construction site where they discovered the body of the six-year-old victim, who had gone missing last week.

Read: Five men held on rape charges in India

Kumar, hooded and flanked by two police officers, told the NDTV news channel that he killed his victims after assaulting them while drunk.

"I lose control over my mind after consuming excessive alcohol... and must have assaulted and killed around 14 or 15 children," he said. "I killed them to avoid getting detected."

Police have sent teams to the areas where Kumar claimed to have committed the crimes, and have ordered a psychological profile. But they said their investigations would take time.

"We have the evidence to link him to his present arrest, but it could be a long investigation process for other claims as he has given a broad time frame of his acts and also doesn't know the exact area where he committed those acts," Singh said.]]>
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			<title>DHA rape investigation: Police looking to question 5 businessmen who attended same party as victim</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/93988/dha-rape-investigation-police-looking-to-question-5-businessmen-who-attended-same-party-as-victim</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/93988/dha-rape-investigation-police-looking-to-question-5-businessmen-who-attended-same-party-as-victim#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 24 Dec 10 04:41:57 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saba.imtiaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=93988</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The ignition of victim K’s car was turned off at 4:20 am, say police.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The police are looking for at least four to five businessmen, some married, to question them about the rape of a woman in DHA as they attended the same party on Sunday night.

At least two of the men are owners of lucrative petrol pumps, a fact volunteered by Clifton SP Tariq Dharejo. “They have gone into hiding,” Dharejo told The Express Tribune. “We have sealed three of the petrol pumps.” One of the suspects has been described as being in his mid-30s. “We are raiding their hideouts; we also raided one on Wednesday night. We want them to surrender so that they can be questioned,” the SP said.

The names of the suspects have been given to the police by Lal Chand, the flat’s owner where the party took place.

Sources said that the businessmen had attempted to hush up the case by paying Rs2.5 million to either the police or the ‘pimp’ of the victims — who the police believe were sex workers. Dharejo has, however, categorically denied that the police had been made an offer. “Not a single penny has been given to or taken by the police,” he said. “Anyone who does so will be booked.” When asked if the women had been offered any money, Dharejo said, “Perhaps. [But] I cannot confirm if any such offer has been made to them.”

Dharejo clarified some details of the incident. “The second woman, S, who was in the car did make her way back to the flat. The alleged perpetrators only abducted and raped K. We do not know if S was assaulted or if her injuries were the result of the accident.” The victims’ car fell into a ditch when it was hit by the perpetrators’ car. S needed 17 stitches on her forehead, an injury most likely the result of the car being hit.

“We do know that the incident took place between 4:20 am and 6:30 am,” Dharejo went on to say. “At 4:20 am, we have a record of the ignition being turned off in K’s car, and at 6:30 am K’s friend M was called to pick her up from [a popular juice and snacks vendor] in Phase II Extension, DHA. The men, who M has described as being teenagers, dropped K off in their silver Corolla.”

Dharejo also said that at this stage the police are speaking to individuals connected with the events of the party to verify all possible angles. “I am not absolving anyone of their crime, but it is also possible that the women left the party safe and sound and then some other individuals were involved in the crime. We are taking statements from those called in for questioning. We will bring any alleged attackers in front of the victim so she can identify them and as the case develops we will charge those involved.”

Residents say they heard nothing

“This is no area for families. Only ayash people live here,” muttered a grocery store owner in the Seaview area, who works near the building where the party was held last weekend. The event has been described as pivotal to the investigation and reportedly took place at a building on Khayaban-e-Muslim, where Cineplex and the Village restaurant are located.  Plainclothes police officials have reportedly kept the building under observation.

A group of men at a tea stall in the area brushed aside questions, saying it was a “dance party” at the house of some “rich people”.

Residents of the area pleaded ignorance about the alleged incident and said they too, had only heard rumours. “It happened in a building,” says one shopper in a store selling mobile phones. “No, no, it happened in a bungalow. It was being used as a guesthouse. There were often these parties there,” said Haseeb, who runs the store. “We heard those women knew the men and there was some verbal disagreement at the party, following which this incident occurred. I can’t tell you anything else; it is not like I was there. The media has just hyped this up.”

“This is a very safe area,” interjected a bearded, older man at the mobile phone store. “I work for the DHA Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI),” he claimed. “We have an ISI mobile here and there are police mobile vans here at all times. This incident happened at 1:30 am but it was an isolated event.” He agreed with the rest of the men at the store that there was more to the incident than had been made public.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>DHA rape case: After questioning servant, police worried more rapes took place</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/93337/dha-rape-after-questioning-servant-police-worried-more-rapes-took-place</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/93337/dha-rape-after-questioning-servant-police-worried-more-rapes-took-place#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 22 Dec 10 19:41:03 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saba.imtiaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=93337</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[CPLC chief says K and S being given counselling, advises Karachi not to panic.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Darakhshan police are alarmed that they could be possibly looking at more than one rape in the course of investigating an alleged gang rape that took place in DHA over the weekend.

Officers have been questioning the owner of a flat Lal Chand, where a party took place on Sunday. A woman K was raped after she left the gathering. Clifton SP Tariq Dharejo clarified that the flat owner Lal Chand, a businessman and property dealer, did not organise the party, however. It was held by a friend of his, identified as Sultan, who did this frequently. “A day before, Sultan had organized a party in the same flat,” said the SP.

The police are questioning Lal Chand’s servant, who claims that he was at the flat the night of the rape. “Initially, he said the gang rape had taken place inside the flat,” said Dharejo. “He said he was sleeping but was woken when he heard a girl screaming for help.” The SP added, however, that the police were treating his slowly unravelling story with extreme caution. Much cross-questioning will be in the works as the police suspect the servant is being “overly clever” and could be biased towards his employers.

Nonetheless, these unverified revelations have worried the police that rapes may have been taking place at the flat. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, three men detained for questioning, were released. They are believed to be Javed Iqbal, Nadeem and Saud who worked as watchmen and peons. Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) chief Ahmed Chinoy told The Express Tribune that they were tracked with the help cell phone records and car trackers.

“That party is what the case revolves on,” said SP Dharejo. “The story will develop from what happened from that point. We have collected a great deal of evidence.” They have sent the clothes of the accused for DNA testing. “We also know the movements of the car the victims were in through the car-tracking device.” DIG South Iqbal Mehmood and Dharejo told The Express Tribune that none of the suspects were the alleged attackers but had attended the party.

Ironically, while police and government officials openly named the alleged victims of rape and assault to journalists, the police are now upset with the media for disclosing the name of one of the suspects.

When asked about progress in the investigation, DIG South Iqbal Mehmood retorted, “Well, the progress has gone for a six after what the media has done. They released everything on television ... the name of the suspect etc. We have not been able to get the rest of the accomplices because they have all bloody well run away.”

DSP Zameer Ahmed Abbasi remarked that they would have finalised this case by Tuesday, but as the media had disclosed the name of the suspect, his accomplices have run away. “Karachi is not a small city,” he said. “It is easy to hide if someone wants to.”

The victims’ professions and character were still a focus. “The women were call girls,” DIG Mehmood said. “They were at the party for six hours, from 10:20 pm to 4:20 am, so we are getting information on who was at the party, who left early etc. We are also questioning the friends of M (alleged rape victim K’s friend who filed the First Information Report).”

In a marked contrast, Dharejo refused to comment on the victims’ profession. “I cannot say anything at this point. I am leading the investigation and it would be bad of me to do so.”

The CPLC’s Chinoy told The Express Tribune that the investigation has so far had been “quite satisfactory”.

“I am in constant contact with the women,” he said. “They are cooperating with the police.” Dharejo said the women were cooperating “because they can see that the police is investigating and has made headway on the case.” Chinoy said arrangements have been made to provide counselling to the women.

Meanwhile, some law-enforcement officials in Clifton and DHA were clueless about the case’s progress. When asked about the arrest of one of the suspects, a police officer quipped, “Well, the entire Clifton police are acting on the case - they must have caught someone!” A protest against the alleged gang-rape is being held near Do Talwar in Karachi on December 24.

CPLC says to Karachi: “Don’t panic”

Citizens-Police Liaison Committee chief Ahmed Chinoy said the people of Karachi should not panic because of the case. “This is an out-of-the-blue incident. There is no gang involved. The public should not worry and this is not a situation where there is a law and order problem. The conditions of the city have not changed overnight - it is the same as it was yesterday.”

When asked about advice for women travelling alone in Karachi, especially to and from weddings and New Year parties which end in the late hours, Chinoy said, “In any case it is advisable to not go out so late at night; we don’t want our mothers and daughters to be out that late. Our advice is to not be a ‘soft target’, make sure you are accompanied by someone instead of going alone.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Broken filters</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/93264/broken-filters</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/93264/broken-filters#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 22 Dec 10 19:13:25 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[sami.shah]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=93264</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[It’s the things they don’t say that fright­en me the most. What was Sharmila Farooqi thinking?]]>
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				<![CDATA[It’s the things they don’t say that frighten me the most.

We all have those thoughts, the ones that erupt out of the darkest, deepest parts of our brain. The thoughts that are formed in that part of the basil ganglia that still share vestigial memories inherited from our reptilian forebears. These are the thoughts that are prevented from transforming into spoken words because, thankfully, social decency has had an overriding influence on us. In other words, the filter kicks in. So we don’t, for example, call a baby ugly in front of its parents. Nor do we talk about our bowel movements at the dinner table. And we certainly don’t tell the groom his bride looks “hot” and “I wish I was you tonight”. We may want to, may have an urge welling up inside us from time to time that threatens to overwhelm any sense of decorum, but we don’t. That’s the filter at work. It prevents us from saying things that would open us up to ridicule, insult and vicious beatings.

When the filter is missing, then something has gone very tragically wrong. Such a direct connection between mouth and brain that allows every thought to come vomiting out as speech can only mean there has been a malfunction. Maybe a head injury incurred in childhood, a birth defect caused by both parents being first cousins or some sort of recent trauma is to blame. Regardless, the end result is a sort of Asperger’s Syndrome-esque inability to let social decency censor one’s words. I am assuming it is just such a condition that is to blame for Sharmila Farooqui’s latest attempts at communication. So when she described a rape victim as “hyper” and “rude”, it can be assumed that the filter was broken and the poor information adviser was suffering under her terrible mental handicap. It makes her further criticism of the rape victim’s testimony as lacking even a little bit of coherence all the more forgivable. The alternative, to assume the filter is actually in place and so poorly constructed that it actually thought these were things one should be allowed to say, is too frightening to consider. One can only hope the erstwhile adviser didn’t then visit any physically disabled people and call them lazy before stopping off at a school for dyslexia and covering it in graffiti written in reverse.

What is worrying is that this incapability to carefully consider what one says before saying it is oddly contagious. It is travelling through the political circles like a kind of virus that causes verbal diarrhea. Ms Farooqui seems to have caught it from her colleague, Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza. Even if you ignore the recent failure of his filter to prevent him from further jeopardising relations with the MQM, it’s hard to forget how just a month ago he publicly trivialised the issue of honour killing by saying it could be overcome by learning to love death. He then receded behind the comfort and safety of his extensive armed retinue composed of, one assumes, policemen who were learning to consider the possibility of death, if not love it outright.

When things like these are said it makes me wonder what is being held back. What are the thoughts that Sharmila Farooqui, when faced with a traumatised and harassed rape victim, did not say? What are the ideas about ending honour killing that Zulfiqar Mirza considered too inappropriate to share? Luckily my own filter is working at maximum efficiency so I cannot share what it throws up as possibilities.

Unfortunately, it also prevents me from describing exactly what I want to do to the ‘journalists’ and ‘editors’ at The Nation and Daily Times, who saw fit to print the name, license plate number and other personal details of the rape victim.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Rape and rhetoric</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/93270/rape-and-rhetoric</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/93270/rape-and-rhetoric#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 22 Dec 10 19:06:26 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[nadir.hassan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=93270</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The she-was-asking-for-it brigade, apart from their moral failings, exhibit a clear ignorance of the nature of rape.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Ask a hundred people what they think of rape and not one will claim to be in favour of it. No matter what perverse morals and desires they might keep hidden, everyone — a random feudal politician or two excepted — will get indignantly irate if you so much as suggest they might be indifferent to the plight of rape survivors.

Question them a bit closer, though, and you will soon hear that dreaded weasel word: But. Of course she shouldn’t have been raped but did you see what she was wearing? I think rape is evil but why was she alone with a boy? Rape is a horrific crime but our girls today have loose morals.

Politicians, police, press — all have reacted to the gang rape of a young woman in DHA, Karachi, as if they have suddenly contracted a nasty case of on-the-other-hand fever. Normally immune to nuance, they are now discovering the benefits of equivocation at the cost of a rape survivor who has had her character and moral judgment dissected.

It is not enforcing political correctness to insist that there is a correct way to speak about rape survivors. And provincial information adviser Sharmila Farooqui said all the wrong things. In naming the victim, Farooqui snatched her prerogative to decide if she wants to publicly identify herself. She also succumbed to one of the oldest sexist tropes, describing the victim as “hyper”, never considering that staying cool, calm and collected may not be possible after being raped.

The she-was-asking-for-it brigade, apart from their moral failings, exhibit a clear ignorance of the nature of rape. A desire for power and control are a far greater motivation for rape than sexual urges. Grouping rape survivors by class, lifestyle and choice of clothing would show that they represent a crosssection of Pakistani women. This should be blindingly obvious. After all, what do Mukhtaran Mai and the survivor from DHA have in common, other than the crime committed against them? But we, as a nation, keep demonstrating that we need to be reminded of basic truths ad nauseam.

Whether through moral blindness, callowness or unfamiliarity with the issue, by treating rape as a provocation rather than an act of aggression we allow this attitude to diffuse throughout society. Think of how many times you have used rape as a punchline to a joke that nobody should laugh at, but too many do. Date rape and prison rape jokes are so common that they have spawned entire genres at the cinema and on television. One such joke may seem harmless but collectively they contribute to make rape seem like something less than a violent crime.

A blasé attitude towards rape leads even progressives to wish it away. When WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange was arrested for rape, too many liberals treated the charges as a distracting sideshow. They were understandably keen to protect his image as a whistle-blowing hero. That should not have led several commentators to dismiss the accusations of being nothing more than ‘sex by surprise’, a phrase meant to be dismissive, but which is just an euphemism that tries to whitewash rape. Certainly, it would have been fair to wonder if the timing of the accusations were politically motivated, but to reject that the allegations amounted to anything worth taking seriously was a shining example of reflexive misogyny.

In the days to come, there will be many worthy criticisms of the way the police collects evidence, how politicians dodge the topic and how the media sensationalises everything. Let’s look at our own language and rhetoric before that.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Handling of rape cases</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/93263/handling-of-rape-cases</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/93263/handling-of-rape-cases#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 22 Dec 10 18:50:44 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=93263</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The conduct of authorities in the rape case raises fears that justice may not be served.]]>
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				<![CDATA[It is hard to ensure that justice will be served when authorities are not convinced that a heinous crime has been committed. The response of the police to the gang rape of a young woman in Karachi shows that they are indulging in odious blame-the-victim behaviour. It is not their job to cast aspersions on the moral character of victims or pass comment on their testimony. It is also inappropriate for anyone — be it the media or politicians — to identify rape victims by name, as happened in this case. There is a longstanding directive from the Supreme Court to not name rape victims unless they themselves wish to come out in the open, as was the case with Mukhtaran Mai. This is a universally accepted norm, as it brings undue attention to the victim and takes focus away from punishing the culprits.

The conduct of authorities in this case raises fears that justice may not be served. Sources in the police have hinted that the suspects may have strong political connections. As we saw in the Dr Shazia Khalid rape case of 2005, political clout can be an impediment to justice. It has been established by a medico-legal report that the woman had been raped. Now it is the media’s job to ensure that the case doesn’t suffer from collective amnesia once the initial flurry of attention has died down.

There is an urgent need to review Pakistan’s rape laws. In 2006, Pervez Musharraf’s government stipulated that rape cases be tried in civil rather than Sharia courts. However, if a woman is unable to prove that she has been raped, she can be tried for adultery in both courts. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates that a rape occurs in Pakistan every two hours and a gang rape every eight hours. Not all these women are able to prove that they have been raped. Until laws against rape are modernised, justice for rape survivors will only be partially served.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2010.]]>
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			<title>DHA gang rape: Police arrest 4 suspects</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/92959/dha-gang-rape-police-question-victim%e2%80%99s-friend-and-party%e2%80%99s-organiser</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/92959/dha-gang-rape-police-question-victim%e2%80%99s-friend-and-party%e2%80%99s-organiser#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 22 Dec 10 10:20:05 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saba.imtiaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=92959</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Security personnel deployed at the entry and exit points of the city alerted to arrest remaining suspects.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Police officials have alerted security personnel deployed at the entry  and exit points of the city to arrest those individuals who allegedly raped a  girl.

Talking to Express News, DIG South Iqbal Mehmood said that  the personnel have been provided with pictures of the accused. Police have also reportedly arrested four people who were involved in the  crime. Investigation officer Ishaq Lashari says that the victim has  identified one of those arrested as one of the attackers.

Updated from the print edition below.

DHA gang rape: Police question victim’s friend and party’s organiser

The Darakhshan police have started questioning a man identified as Lal Chand who allegedly organised a party that was attended by a young woman allegedly gang raped in DHA Sunday night.

The police are also questioning M, a friend of the victim K, who registered the FIR on Monday.

Clifton SP Tariq Dharejo told The Express Tribune that they made some headway with the help of the car’s tracker system and mobile phone call records. “I want to make it clear that there is no political gang behind the incident,” he said on Tuesday. “We also questioned the watchman of the apartment where Lal Chand resides and held the party and we are close to concluding the case.” He stressed that the police had not detained M, but were only questioning him.

Sources said that the police had acquired the phone numbers and vehicle registration number of the three to four men who rammed their car into the one being driven by K, who was accompanied by a friend S. The women’s car dived into a ditch, they were dragged from it, K was gang raped and they were later dumped in the area.

Dharejo said that they were working with information provided by the victim. They are investigating whether some fight took place at the party, prompting the attackers to follow the women after they left.

Sources in the police also said that there was intense political pressure on the case. According to a source, M gave the names of two men to the police — Vicky and Hashim — as the alleged perpetrators. Vicky, reportedly, has a number of powerful political backers and it is believed that the police are under pressure to remove his name from the investigation.

Police bias

However, the case has been embellished further. Overnight, new ‘details’ were added to the story by police officers. SHO Rana Amjad told The Express Tribune, “These girls were drunk. They said they stopped at [a restaurant] on their way back from the party, but we checked the CCTV footage of [the restaurant] and didn’t see them.”

The police also complained that the media circus that descended on the Darakhshan police station deterred them from doing their job. “It is a competition to see who can break the news first,” one officer remarked. “I told the media that they shouldn’t look for a Mukhtaran Mai in every rape case,” he said, referring to the prominent gang-rape survivor, educationist and human rights activist. “Yeh larkiyan Mukhtaran Mai nahi hain, yeh doosri maiyan hain!” [These women are no Mukhtaran Mai, they are just other mais.] Mai is an Urdu word that refers to a woman and can be used as both a derogatory or an honorific suffix.

Police officers have attempted to portray the women as call girls and cast serious doubts on their statements, despite the initial medico-legal report that verified that K had been raped and the fact that S’s injuries were severe enough to warrant 17 stitches.  The general assumption is that if the woman had a “bad character” it was acceptable to rape her.

Amjad said, “S and K were ‘known’ to the police in the area. There may be some complaints against S already; we are looking into the files. I think she is a dancer. We did not have any time to do this on Monday because we spent all day dealing with the media.” However, Chaudhry Amanat, an investigative officer at the Darakhshan police station, said, “This was just a doubt. No such case against S exists and the police don’t know either of the women.”

While the rape victim K and her friend S wanted to withdraw the complaint, Investigating Officer Ishaq Lashari said, “A complaint is not like ghar ka sauda [groceries] which you can return so easily. We will investigate this case and release details as we get them.”

Lashari told The Express Tribune that the police had met with the K’s friend, M, and had also spoken to K. K told the police that she was not staying at her residence any more but was with some loved ones [azeez] and would visit the police station on Tuesday to record her statement. However, one investigative police officer said that K - who said that she had been treated unfairly - had not come in to record a statement yet. The officer said that if this continued then the FIR would eventually be termed a Class-C FIR.

Not a white Corolla

Amjad said the car used by the perpetrators was a silver Corolla. Initial media reports had suggested that the car was a white Corolla, leading to speculation about the re-emergence of the ‘white Corolla gang’ which had been involved in the abduction and rape of women in Karachi. Amjad said the car may have been a rental.

Amjad denied there was any organised group involved in such cases, or that similar incidents had been reported in the vicinity.

He said a large number of people are at Seaview till the early hours of the morning and the police have received reports of “drunken men chasing women”. “We do have a police check post at Seaview and we monitor the situation. However in cases of women being chased or harassed, there are few complaints filed - otherwise we would have a mountain of FIRs.”

Legal angle

Human rights lawyer Zia Awan and other people have been following the case. “The way that this case has been portrayed by the police and the media reporting has not been conducive,” Awan said. “The women were portrayed to be of a ‘bad character’ - even if they are [sex workers] no one can [rape] them. It doesn’t matter what they were wearing or what time [they were out].” The portrayal has spread fear among parents who are worried about their daughters going out. It was very brave of these women to have come forward. People do come forward now because of the civil society and the positive role that the media has. “But our society is so offensive, there is such a huge stigma and discrimination that most cases are withdrawn or languish in courts for years,” he added. “The focus is always on the victims and never on the perpetrators — who always go scot free.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Serial rapist: Ali Hajiano, the white Corolla wallah remains behind bars</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/92960/serial-rapist-ali-hajiano-the-white-corolla-wallah-remains-behind-bars</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/92960/serial-rapist-ali-hajiano-the-white-corolla-wallah-remains-behind-bars#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 22 Dec 10 05:28:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Salman Siddiqui]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=92960</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[He boasted of raping so many women, he had lost count.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Notorious criminal Ali Hajiano, who became known in Karachi as the “White Corolla Wallah” for using the car in his rape- and robbery-related crimes, remains behind bars, an official who was the DIG handling the case at that time informed The Express Tribune.

Hajiano’s name resurfaced on Monday when the Darakhshan police started dealing with a gang rape case. Rumours were rife that Hajiano’s gang or one of its offshoots may still be active in the city. Hajiano and his accomplices targeted young women in Defence and Clifton.

Officials said that Hajiano, who was booked in dozens of rape and robbery cases, along with his gang of three was busted in 2009. No offshoot of the gang exists. “But Karachi is a mega city where other criminals may have decided to replicate his modus operandi,” said Ashfaque Alam, who was the superintendent police in Clifton at that time and won many awards for cracking this case.

Alam dispelled the impression that there was any political pressure on the police force. “The truth is that the criminal was too smart for the police and would slip by many times through his many impersonations with wigs and what not,” he said.

Also, while Hajiano was convicted for robbery and dacoity charges, Alam said that no one had come forward to testify on the rape charges against him. “Around 47 people were in court to testify against Hajiano, but none of them for rape,” the police officer said, adding that the main reason was that in our society so much taboo and shame is associated with a rape victim that they choose to remain silent instead of fighting for justice.

However, Alam added that there was no doubt whatsoever that Hajiano raped with impunity. “He did not even have any shame in admitting his rape crimes on television and went on air proudly saying that he had raped so many women that he had lost count.”

Hajiano was one of the three children of Gul Muhammad, a government officer who worked in the provincial education department. His brother Yasir was killed reportedly by activists belonging to a political party, which brought Hajiano close to the ranks of a political party’s group in Landhi, where he and his family lived. However, the criminal was not a party activist.

Hajiano began his career with petty crime, such as snatching cash from the roadside, before venturing into more serious pursuits such as making counterfeit banknotes.

Officials who interrogated him at the time, said that when he got away with a rape and robbery in Clifton for the first time, he got a ‘chaska’ or addiction as one officer put it. Then on, he decided to pursue this line of dirty work full time. He even rented out other cars, such as a Mercedes with a government number plate, in which he would roam around and flash his money. The white Corolla, however, was strictly used for committing the crimes.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Clifton gang rape case: One suspect arrested</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/92730/clifton-gang-rape-case-one-suspect-arrested</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/92730/clifton-gang-rape-case-one-suspect-arrested#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 21 Dec 10 13:57:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=92730</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Police arrest one suspect from the Clifton area of Karachi for the alleged gang rape of a girl.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Police arrested one suspect in the Clifton gang rape case on Tuesday. The alleged suspect, Laal Chand, was picked up from the Clifton area of Karachi. 

Initial reports suggest Laal Chand was one of the guests on the guest list for the party that the two girls were attending.

According to Express 24/7 correspondent Ahmed Jung, a group roaming around in a white Toyota Corolla has been known for such incidents in the past few months.

The girls had registered a First Information Report (FIR) with the police which they later withdrew.

An earlier report in The Express Tribune detailed the incident:
Twenty-something K and her acquaintance S, in her mid-30s, were driving in a blue Suzuki Alto on Khayaban-e-Qasim in DHA when three to four men in a car rammed into them from the back. The small car dived into a ditch, the women were dragged from the car, abducted and K was gang raped while S was beaten. They were then dumped back at the spot. M, one of K’s friends, took them to hospital from where the case was taken up.
Read the full report here.]]>
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			<title>Media circus: Rape victim frightened into withdrawing FIR</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/92275/clifton-gang-rape-case-sindh-governor-takes-notice</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/92275/clifton-gang-rape-case-sindh-governor-takes-notice#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 21 Dec 10 05:10:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saba.imtiaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=92275</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Up to 4 men drove into her car in DHA, medical report confirms rape.]]>
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				<![CDATA[It took the gang rape survivor less than 24 hours to realise that she was better off withdrawing her statement, so badly did the government and police manage the case.

Twenty-something K and her acquaintance S, in her mid-30s, were driving in a blue Suzuki Alto on Khayaban-e-Qasim in DHA when three to four men in a car rammed into them from the back. The small car dived into a ditch, the women were dragged from the car, abducted and K was gang raped while S was beaten. They were then dumped back at the spot. M, one of K’s friends, took them to hospital from where the case was taken up.

DIG South Iqbal Mehmood confirmed that the medico-legal report stated that rape had indeed taken place. “The report has been reserved for now and will only be released on Tuesday,” he said. S was beaten and needed 17 stitches, added Citizens-Police Liaison Committee chief Ahmed Chinoy. He told The Express Tribune, “Since there was no medico-legal officer (MLO) at Jinnah hospital they were then taken to Services hospital where the MLO examined the girl and also took samples for DNA testing. The initial report does say that she was raped.” Police Surgeon Dr Hamid Parhiyar said K’s clothes have been handed over to the police. DNA samples have been dispatched as well. Dr Sumayan, who carried out the chemical examination, has declined to comment.

K’s friend M registered the First Information Report (FIR) No. 585/10 under Sections 365-A (kidnapping) and 375/34 (gang rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code at Darakshan police station. It states that there were three to four unidentified men who committed the crime. The complaint was, however, withdrawn late Monday night.

At the Darakhshan police station, where the statements were recorded, a veritable media circus had broken out. Not one to be left out, information adviser Sharmila Farooqui arrived and after attempting to speak to K, met the media at about 7:30 pm. Against all internationally adopted procedures, the adviser not only named the rape survivor but went on to express scepticism and describe K as extremely “hyper” and “rude” as she did not want to speak to anyone. “She’ll beat you with a stick if you go meet her!” Farooqui exclaimed.

The adviser told the media that K had said that she would think about giving names and addresses after mulling over them through the night. Amid a rash of questions, Farooqui discussed M’s statement that led to the FIR. M’s statement was automatically assumed to be K’s version of the events, that she went to a “party” and was raped after she emerged from it. “But this is her version,” said Farooqui. She went on to make the judgement that K’s statements had been “contradictory” because her friends had given different statements and locations.

“You will understand it later [after investigations are through],” Farooqui answered to further badgering from the media. “We’ve understood it a little... Uss [her statements] mein jaan nahi he. Thora sa he.”

Farooqui said that K was blaming the police and politicians for inviting the media. “A perfectly normal person would panic with so much media around,” the adviser admitted.

K was not willing to share details of where she lived, the address of the supposed party she had attended and other information. S was also not keen on divulging any details.

Adviser Farooqui and the CPLC’s Chinoy went on to stress that the rumours of a gang operating in DHA were not true. “There is no such thing. It is an individual, isolated case,” Farooqui said. She expressed sympathy for the police. “The bechara DIG has been sitting here for four hours,” she remarked.

Chinoy, who also spoke to K, said, “She was calm. However given the amount of media present, given what happened, she was disturbed and said that she had not been treated fairly [mere sath insaaf nahi hua he].”

While officials admitted that the medico-legal report showed that K had been raped, the prevailing consensus at the police station was that the women were at fault and were ‘blackmailing’ someone by filing the FIR. When asked about K’s profession, DIG Iqbal Mehmood huffily replied, “She says she is a model.” He then went on to disclose personal biological details about her.

At the police station, there appeared to be an effort to portray that the alleged victims were ‘call girls’ and one of them was involved in ‘trafficking women’. Much was made of the “fact” that the women had reportedly attended a party and that one of their statements did not match.

“The victim is not ready to inform the police about the culprits and she is not even answering when the police ask her from where she was returning home at midnight,” said SHO Rana Amjad. “We did not register the case on the complaint of the victim but we lodged the FIR over media pressure.” The women had not spoken to any media personnel and had left the police station while reporters were amassed outside.

The small car, which had been hit by the alleged perpetrators’ car, stood in the parking lot at the police station. Its front and rear ends had received extensive damage and the windshield was smashed.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity, a female police surgeon with 15 years of experience, who works with rape survivors admitted at Jinnah hospital, Civil hospital and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, said: “We keep asking the (alleged) victim questions and slowly take them into confidence in order to get the whole story. Every now and then we revert to the same questions in order to check for continuity... In some cases the woman may be severely traumatised and when questioned by the police may succumb to pressure.” Dr Mubarak Ali, a medico-legal officer at Civil hospital, also said a victim’s story changes if they get scared of the police.

PPI reported, however, that both women came to the police station on Monday at about midnight and informed the police about the case.

According to this report, the police took them to Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) for medico-legal formalities. CHK MLO Dr Qarrar told PPI that the initial report suggested that the woman was raped.

Clifton SP Tariq Dharejo told The Express Tribune that the DIG was forming a special investigation team to investigate the matter. The mobile phone records are being pulled as well.

with additional input by mahnoor sherazee

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21st, 2010.]]>
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