Blackmailed: FIR sought in human trafficking case

Petitioner says her daughter had been sold in Dubai by her husband

LAHORE: An additional district and sessions judge on Monday sought comments from the Gulberg SHO on a petition filed by a woman seeking the registration of a case against a man involved in human trafficking.

Petitioner Saira* said that she had arranged for a tutor, Asif*, to teach her daughter at home. “Asif later married my daughter without our consent. When we learned of the marriage, we asked him to take her to his home. However, he said that he could not do so. Instead, he told us that he would live with his wife in Dubai. He sent our daughter to Dubai and promised to follow her after a few weeks,” the petitioner said. She said that they then lost all contact with their daughter. “After a few weeks, my daughter called us and told us that Asif had sold her to a prostitution ring. They had raped her there and filmed the assaults to blackmail her,” she said.

She said they had met Asif’s family and asked them to help them get their daughter back. “Asif demanded a huge amount of money to bring back our daughter. We paid the amount. Our daughter was then returned to us. Asif is now demanding Rs2 million to give the videos used to blackmail her.”

She said that she had asked the Gulberg police to register a case against Asif, but they had refused to do so. She requested the court to direct the SHO to register the FIR.

*Names have been changed to protect identities

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2016.