According to the official, Ali told villagers after allegedly selling his wife that she had eloped with another man. PHOTO: AFP / FILE
The house of Rahman Ali, a resident of Barkand Bela village, was torched on Monday evening by a mob, said an official of Gandigar police, adding they have arrested the accused.
The official said Sara*, the daughter of Habibullah, was married to Ali in 2012. In September last year, the husband allegedly sold his wife to an unidentified person in Lahore’s Heera Mandi, who forced her into prostitution. According to the official, Ali told villagers after allegedly selling his wife that she had eloped with another man, because of which Sara’s parents did not search for their daughter.
On Sunday night, an Afridi tribesman from Khyber Agency visited Habibullah and handed over his daughter, explaining that he spotted her when he visited Heera Mandi around two weeks ago. The tribesman said he bought the woman for Rs0.2 million from her owner and was returning her to them. Habibullah assembled a jirga and told them what had happened.
Late Monday night, a mob marched towards Ali’s house and torched it. The accused had already escaped and was arrested by the police on Tuesday morning. Ali confessed while in custody, explaining that he did not love his wife and wanted to get rid of her, the official claimed.
The accused has filed a case against Habibullah in return for torching his house, but the official explained that the mob was responsible for the act. A further investigation in both cases is under way, he added.
*Name has been changed to protect identity
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2014.
COMMENTS (9)
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A.Khan. which world do you live in. Your suggestions are more from an another planet. Sorry to say so but you are just saying that we should legalize this kind off ugly and disgusting prostitution which is destroying us with all other things. Please think twice before writing a comment.
@unbelievable: Show me a place in the world where they don't have prostitution! It's the oldest profession in the world. Even so called religious Saudi Arabia and Iran still has prostitutes.
@Zeeshan Ali:
Problem isn't a location - problem is a culture where men think they own women.
@Zeeshan Ali: You seem to be an extremely naive individual. Bulldozing the place will not eradicate prostitution. Banning prostitution has never eradicated it. Its known as the oldest occupation.
Its common knowledge that there are brothels in more up-market neighbourhoods of all big cities with girls from Eastern Europe and China. To prevent exploitation, you need to regulate the industry by letting the sex workers know they have rights as well. Banning it will drive everything underground and lead to further exploitation of these women. What is needed is open debate about how to manage it such that no one is exploited and workers are educated on sexual health and sexually transmitted diseases so that they can take preventive measures both for their protection and their clients. Otherwise the country is sitting on a time bomb of epic proportions as HIV and Hepatitis cases soar. This already seems to be the case, according to some acquaintances in the medical profession.
If you thin that this should be banned because we are an Islamic country, then you are living in a fool's world.
@Zeeshan, bulldozing is not the solution. Solution is financial independence of women and to rid our society of these archaic conservative tendencies and stupid sexist notions like chador and char deevari!
Why can't the government get rid of this shameful place HeeraMandi. Bull Doze the menance once and for all from the society.
Despite daily incidents of women being exploited by those they depend upon , our society still questions women's choice to work and strive for financial independence. Why do parents choose to let their daughters remain vulnerable to such exploitation instead of ensuring that she is a strong and self sufficient individual