Girl abducted, killed by maternal uncle over monetary dispute

A young girl abducted from Surjani Town has been killed due to the alleged criminal negligence of the police investigation officer. Farida, 8, was allegedly abducted by her maternal uncle, along with his accomplices, because he had not received a share from the sale proceeds of the family lands.

Karachi police took one accused into custody but allegedly showed reluctance to arrest the main accused, while police in Lahore, where Farida was taken after abduction, also did not cooperate.

Attaullah, the father of the victim, narrated his tragedy to The Express Tribune. "On March 28, shortly before iftar, my brother-in-law, named Sadiq, came to my place along with his other brothers and forcibly took away my daughter Farida," he claimed. "He also slapped his sister and my wife when she resisted."

Explaining the possible reason for abduction and killing of his daughter, Attaullah, who is an Afghan refugee, said that his brother had sold a piece of land in the northern Kunduz province of Afghanistan for Rs65 million. "My brother-in-law Sadiq was demanding Rs4million out of the sale proceeds despite the fact he has no right to ask for a share," he said. "This is why he held a grudge against me and my family."

Attaullah said that he had also offered to call a jirga to resolve the matter peacefully.

He further stated that the case of his daughter's abduction was registered at Surjani Town police station on the complaint of his wife on March 30. Later, police arrested one of the accused, named Yousaf, who had come to his house along with the main accused Sadiq.

"In the meantime, I came to know that Sadiq and his accomplices had taken his daughter to Peshawar," Attaullah recalled. "I informed the investigation officer of the case, ASI Mukhtar, but he did nothing," he claimed. "When Sadiq got to know that we have registered a case against him, he shifted my daughter to Lahore and kept her in a rented house in Shama Colony," he added. "He murdered my daughter there on Eid day and buried the body."

Attaullah travelled to Lahore and asked residents of Shama Colony about his daughter and they confirmed to him that Farida died and was buried by Sadiq. "When I requested the Nishtar police station to arrest the accused, they said that they would take action only if the Karachi police arrived in Lahore," he claimed.

According to the aggrieved father, the IO of the case, ASI Mukhtar, had been suspended and replaced by another IO who has told him that a Karachi police party would travel to Lahore within a few days.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2023.