Fakhra Younus case: SHC reissues notice to prime suspect in acid attack case

Bilal Mustafa Khar told to file comments before the court by December 6.

KARACHI:

Twelve years after the case first surfaced, the Sindh High Court (SHC) re-issued a notice on Tuesday to Bilal Mustafa Khar, the prime suspect in the Fakhra Younus acid attack case.

Bilal, son of former Punjab governor and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Ghulam Mustafa Khar, has been directed to file his comments before the court by December 6, 2012 in an acid attack case.

Allegedly attacked by the former governor’s son in 2000, Younus jumped to her death in the Italian city of Rome on March 17, 2012. At the time, it had been reported that Bilal had attacked Younus with acid in 2000 after she had left him. The two had shared a troubled marriage dotted with domestic violence.

Seven months after the victim committed suicide in Rome – where she was undergoing multiple face reconstruction surgeries – three non-government organisations challenged the acquittal of the suspect in the high court.

The petitioners – Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research, Shirkat Gah and Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (through Advocate Faisal Siddiqui) – have also sought effective implementation of newly-enacted criminal laws regarding investigation of crimes against women — especially acid attacks.

The petitioners have cited the Sindh home secretary, law secretary and Bilal as respondents in the case.

The petitioner’s lawyer said that Younus was attacked by her husband Bilal in May 2000 and there were four eyewitnesses to the crime including the victim’s own son.

But Bilal, who was arrested after a delay of nearly two years, was finally acquitted by a Sessions judge in South Karachi on December 16, 2003. The acquittal came as four eyewitnesses refused to identify him in court allegedly due to his “influence”. The trial court, the lawyer contended, had also failed to consider the evidence available on record.

The lawyer pointed out that the government had enacted the Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act 2011 through which necessary amendments were made to the previous law to control crimes against women. Fakhra’s case should be reinvestigated under the guidelines of the new law, he held.

The lawyer asked the court to summon the entire record of Younus’ case from the trial court, examine the same and then remand back to the concerned court for re-trial.

The court was also requested to direct the inspector general of the Sindh police to fully implement the new law in letter and spirit to prevent such “heinous crimes against the women in the province”.

On Tuesday, the court was informed that the notice to respondent Bilal had still not been issued despite court directives on the last date of hearing.

Headed by Justice Maqbool Baqir, the SHC divisional bench reissued the notice to the main accused.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2012.