Kenyan girls record statements
The judicial magistrate for district Malir on Wednesday recorded the statements of two Kenyan girls who have been rescued from the Punjabi Saudagaran Society.
One of the girls, identified as Lola Abdi, said that she is from Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. She came to Pakistan with a Pakistani friend, Haider Rehman to jointly undertake business, as per her statement. She had completed all the required legal paperwork before travelling to Pakistan, but once she reached here, Haider Rehman confiscated her passport and threatened to kill her if she registered a complaint against him in Kenya or Pakistan.
Abdi alleged that Haider had also confiscated her phone, “grabbed my throat and threatened to kill me”. She claimed that Haider had given her the phone to speak to her mother, but she disclosed her location to the family during the phone call. She asked her brother to inform the Kenyan Embassy in Islamabad about her situation.
A few days later, police recovered Abdi who now says she wants to return to her country. The other Kenyan girl, identified as Teresa said that she had come to visit Pakistan almost a year ago. She had a one month visa which was about to expire. When she wanted to go back, Haider and his wife insisted that she should visit more places. “I was waiting for my visa and also taking care of Haider’s children,” she claimed. “Haider had promised to pay me for taking care of his children.”
Teresa said that she was being monitored through the CCTV cameras in the house, while Haider and his wife were on vacation. “When they returned, she said that she wanted to go back to her country,” she added. “But Haider’s wife threatened to kill brandishing a knife.”
When Teresa got back her phone which was with Haider’s family, she called up her cousin and told him the entire story. She alleged that Haider had kept her hands and feet tied in an under-construction house from where police recovered her. She appealed for the arrest Haider, Fisahur Rehman, Raja Hasnain, Asghar, Nadir, and Misbah.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2023.