Women’s rights body wants action against men involved in stripping teenager

Qaumi Watan Party calls for judicial probe into matter

PESHAWAR/ ISLAMABAD: Amid allegations that a sitting member of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa cabinet was allegedly protecting men who were involved in stripping a girl naked and parading her in Dera Ismail Khan a few weeks ago, there has been increasing clamour for action from opposition groups and government body’s which protect women’s rights.

On October 27, 2017, a teenaged girl was stripped and paraded around the streets of DI Khan’s Matt area, to pay the price for her brother’s crime. A case was registered against the perpetrators and eight suspects were arrested. However, the prime suspect is still at large.

The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) has urged the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government to register an FIR against the perpetrators of girl stripping in DI Khan under section 354-A of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) (assault or use of criminal force to woman and stripping her of her clothes), which carries a maximum sentence of death or life in prison.

The commission has also noted with concern that the FIR which had been registered against the perpetrators was under 354 (assault or criminal force against woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 342 (wrongful confinement), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon) and 149 of PPC — where the punishments are nominal when compared to Section 354-A. Moreover, 354-A makes the offence non-bailable and non-compoundable.

In this regard, the NCSW said it had written a letter to the K-P’s inspector general of police.

While appreciating summons issued to the concerned SHO for allegedly supporting the accused, the commission urged the provincial government to suspend the SHO and depute an investigation officer from outside the region to avoid the chances of any injustice being meted out to the victim owing to local or political links.

“The NCSW strongly believes that any lenient view towards this heinous act could raise major concern over safety and security of women in the county. Therefore, the NCSW urges the intervention of IG to ensure impartial investigation and inclusion of the relevant section of law in the FIR along with the accurate facts,” the body said.

Meanwhile, the K-P Commission on the Status of Women (K-PCSW) on Monday condemned the incident and demanded full support and justice for the victim.

“This heinous act raises concern over the safety and security of women and its negative impact on society not only at the regional level but also at the national and international levels,” the K-PCSW said.

The commission took up the case with the regional police officer of DI Khan and demanded that the provincial government ensure the accused are given an exemplary punishment.

QWP wants judicial inquiry

Qaumi Watan Party’s (QWP) Provincial Chairman Sikandar Hayat Sherpao on Monday demanded a judicial inquiry into the DI Khan incident. Addressing a gathering at Sherpao village on Monday, he said that the incumbent K-P government had failed to take action against the culprits and to provide justice to the bereaved family.

He further claimed that the real facts surrounding the incident have been hushed up, hence only a judicial inquiry would bring the reality to the fore. Sherpao added that delimitation of constituencies as per the 2017 census was need of the hour since it would protect the rights of smaller provinces.

He expressed concerns over a deadlock on the matter since certain political parties were retracting from their earlier commitment. This, Sherpao said, would deprive the smaller provinces of their due representation in the National Assembly.

The QWP provincial chief regretted that larger province had always attempted to damage the interests of smaller provinces, which caused a sense of deprivation among them.

To make matters worse, Sherpao said that delays in holding the census and ignoring reservations of the people over its results had created hurdles in the delimitation.

Had the census been held on time, it would not have led to the grim situation today, Sherpao said. More than just the share of smaller provinces in the National Assembly, he was apprehensive over the effect it would have on their National Finance Commission Award shares.

He urged that this issue should not be politicised, rather consensus reached on the delimitation issue should be honoured in letter and spirit.

Despite that, he said that his party was in favour of holding the general elections on time as he said that Imran Khan’s demand for snap elections had no takers.

WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM APP

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2017.