Disrobing case: HRCP seeks protection for witnesses

HRCP requests Haripur police to ensure safety of witnesses in Neelor Bala case.

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chapter of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has requested the Haripur police to ensure the safety of witnesses in Neelor Bala case, in which a woman was stripped off and paraded naked in public.

According to a press released issued by HRCP here in Peshawar on Monday, K-P HRCP Vice Chairperson Sher Muhammad Khan stated that the commission had been told that the victim Shaheen’s* father-in-law was repeatedly being threatened by Basheer Ahmed’s son Adnan.

Basheer appears to be the man charged in the First Information Report by the concerned Station House Officer.

He said Adnan was also threatening Tariq and Moeen, who are the two witnesses in the case, while the prayer-leader of the local mosque in Neelor Village, who had recorded his statement before the court under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code against Basheer was also being threatened.

“The HRCP fears that the perpetrators of this tragic incident may escape legal consequences by threatening and pressurising the witnesses to defy their statements,” he remarked.

The Commission also noted the role of jirga in deciding the case of Saadia* for not informing her family regarding the alleged eve-teasing by Shaheen’s son and his cousin.

According to the members of the jirga which was lead by Basheer Khan, Saadia’s divorce had been decided for not informing her family about the matter.

The local people, however, believe she did not disclose the matter to avoid bloodshed.

The Commission asserted that Saadia was not only divorced, but she was also deprived from her right to dowry.

*Names have been changed to protect identities



Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2011.