Karo-kari : Woman who went to court for protection is killed by husband

Sakina had converted to Islam and married Chachar from Ghotki.

SUKKUR:

A woman who had filed a petition for protection after being threatened by her husband was killed on Tuesday allegedly by him.

The victims, Sakina Bagri and Haseena, were sisters, and their third sibling, Samina, was also injured in Qalandar Shah Muhalla.

Sakina had filed a petition in the Sindh High Court Sukkur bench, requesting protection from her husband, Punhal Chachar, who, she claimed, wanted to kill her after she was declared a ‘kari’.

Five years ago, Sakina converted to Islam and married Chachar, who is a resident of Ghotki. Nearly three months ago, she had a fight with her husband. After which, she took her two daughters and went to live with Haseena and her husband Bashir Korai.

During this time, Chachar visited Haseena’s house and asked his wife to return but she refused. After several refusals, Chachar became angry and threatened to kill her. He also declared her ‘kari’, according to sources.

On Tuesday, Chachar raided Haseena’s house and, after an argument, he allegedly shot Sakina. Her sisters rushed to help her but Chachar shot them too. Haseena and Samina were taken to the taluka hospital, where Haseena succumbed to her injuries.

The Pannu Aqil police have registered a case against four men, including Punhal Chachar and Jam Korai. SHO Jawed Alam Abro claimed that the police have arrested two of the accused. “I cannot give the names of the accused because I am in Sukkur right now, but you can contact the Pannu Aqil police to get their names,” he said. An official at the police station denied the arrests at first, and later claimed that two arrests have been made but the names could not be disclosed.

Lawyer recalls victim’s plight

A human rights lawyer, Hadi Bux Bhatt, told The Express Tribune that the victims, Sakina and Haseena, came to him on May 1 to explain Sakina’s marriage issues. He filed a petition on May 2, on behalf of Sakina, asking for protection from her husband and to obtain the custody of her three-year-old daughter, Waziran, who was forcibly taken by Chachar on April 30.

According to Bhatt, Justice Nisar Ahmed Shaikh accepted the petition and called for a hearing on May 9.

The court ordered notices to be issued to Punhal Chachar and the Ghotki and Pannu Aqil SHOs. The police were told to protect Sakina.

Sakina had also filed a case in Pannu Aqil’s family court for a divorce and maintenance expenses.

The hearing for this case was scheduled for May 6, the lawyer said.

Meanwhile, Pannu Aqil SPO Qalandar Bux Soomro insisted that he was unaware of any notices being issued to police officers for Sakina’s protection.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2011.