Rawalpindi Additional District and Sessions Judge Afshan Ijaz Sufi has declared that rape and gang-rape cases cannot be settled through compromises.
City Police Officer Khalid Hamdani has directed the SHOs of all relevant police stations across the district to implement the judicial order immediately and to arrest complainants, defendants and all witnesses who withdrew or recanted their statements.
All recanting witnesses and complainants will face cases under the same charges of sexual violence.
The decision aims to clamp down on those who submit compromise statements or otherwise renege in rape, gang-rape and child sexual abuse cases.
Orders have been issued for the arrest of witnesses who recanted in 19 cases of sexual assault involving minors and women in Rawalpindi district.
The Additional District and Sessions Judge Afshan Ijaz Sufi issued strict orders and instructed the CPO to take immediate action. The SHOs of the stations handling these 19 cases have been ordered to arrest the named witnesses and complainants.
Among those who recanted are 10 women and 9 men who were complainants; arrest orders have been issued for all recanting witnesses in these 19 cases.
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