School to be named after girl set ablaze in Galiyat

Assembly speaker vows to fight Ambreen Bibi’s case

ABBOTABAD: A higher secondary school will be established in Makol Paeyen village, Galiyat and named after Ambreen Bibi, the teenage girl who was set ablaze on a jirga’s orders in.

This was announced by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser during a ceremony held to honour the efforts of police officials who traced Ambreen Bibi’s killers.



Burned alive

On April 29, a teenage girl was burnt alive when unidentified people set two vehicles ablaze in the village. It was later revealed that Ambreen Bibi was drugged, strangled and set ablaze in a vehicle because she helped her friend elope. The decision was taken on the orders of a jirga.

On May 5, 14 people were arrested in connection with the murder.

Reprehensible offence

Speaking on the occasion, Qaiser said Ambreen Bibi’s murder was an unforgivable offence.

“I am the [complainant] in her case and will [fight for her rights],” he said.



The speaker added the accused would face exemplary punishment for the heinous murder.

“The provincial government has decided to build a higher secondary school for girls in Makol Paeyen,” he said. “
It will be named after Ambreen Bibi.”

Dark chapter

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPA Aurangzeb Nalota, who was also present on the occasion, condemned the murder of Ambreen Bibi. “The decree to have her killed is a dark stain on the traditional role of jirgas,” he said.



According to the PML-N leader, jirgas are respectable institutions that prioritise the speedy dispensation of justice.

“The jirga’s decision was influenced by miscreant elements who wanted to take revenge on a poor girl for a crime she did not commit,” Nalota said.

Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi said the government has constituted a panel of legal experts who would contest Ambreen Bibi’s case at the state’s expenses. He urged lawyers not to fight the case of the accused as it they would be throwing their weight behind an injustice.

In his address, Muhammad Riasat Khan, father of the victim, thanked the provincial government for its support, saying that he wanted to see his daughter’s murderers behind bars.

Later, the speaker distributed commendation certificates among police officers and personnel who investigated the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2016.