Family pressuring Pushto singer Nazia Iqbal to pardon rapist brother

Iftikhar Ali was found guilty of raping two of his nieces

PESHAWAR: Popular Pashto singer Nazia Iqbal took to social media last week to shame her brother, Iftikhar Ali, after he was found guilty of raping her two daughters.

Her comments followed a Rawalpindi district court’s decision to sentence her brother to death and a Rs600,000 fine on two counts of sexual abuse against her daughters.

Nazia hailed the verdict as a step in the right direction. “Truth has prevailed and justice has been served. Verdicts like the one about my brother serve a bigger purpose of keeping the future of young girls in our society bright and safe,” she said.

Motherhood calling

However, since the verdict came out, Nazia’s mother is said to be pressuring her into pardoning Iftikhar for his heinous crimes. “My mother is begging me to spare my brother’s life for her sake,” the singer said in a video message.

Upon refusing her mother’s request initially, Nazia opened discussion over her brother’s fate on social media. While some hailed Nazia’s decision to remain steadfast, others hurled abuses at her for bringing her family a ‘bad name’.

“I did what every mother should do. At least now mothers, daughters and sisters will be careful about not just the people they meet and greet but also their immediate family members,” she further said in the video.

“I fought a long and tedious battle in the court and Allah blessed me with justice,” Nazia said. “I request others to stand up for their children and protect them from the beasts wandering around in our society.”

Public comments on the video

Nazia’s followers, it appears, are still divided on whether she should condemn her brother to death or spare him. While many appreciate her commitment to justice, some have asked her outright to forgive Iftikhar. There were also those who felt the singer should seek help from religious scholars and sort this matter out in the light of Islamic teachings.

However, according to the most baffling of comments, Nazia should “not be trusted because she is an artiste and has overblown the issue.”

A user from Afghanistan asked Nazia to forgive her brother as “nothing is more important than fulfilling the wishes of a mother.”

“You honoured your motherhood by exposing your brother and now you should let your mother have her peace by forgiving her son,” the user wrote.

Backstory

On April 25 last year, Nazia registered a complaint against her brother at the Rawat police station, for sexually abusing her daughters for months.

She further alleged in the FIR that her brother had threatened to kill both her daughters if anyone tried to expose him. The 21-year-old Iftikhar was arrested immediately by police and DNA tests confirmed that the girls were sexually abused by their uncle.

Here's Nazia Iqbal's video message:

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