Shahbaz visits family of woman who set herself on fire over police attitude. PHOTO: ONLINE
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Wednesday visited the family of a woman who died after setting herself on fire to protest excesses by police.
The woman, a resident of Deenpur, had committed suicide on Tuesday in front of a police station in Saddar, Muzaffargarh. She had been protesting against the non-registration of an FIR against five men, including three policemen, who, she said, had raped her.
Talking to the media, the chief minister said that the biggest challenge in the Punjab was to change the investigation culture in the police. He was accompanied by the Punjab IG.
Sharif said that had the complainant been the daughter of an MNA or an MPA, the DPO would have investigated the case personally. The CM ordered the officials to suspend the Muzaffargarh City DSP for his negligence. He said that the Muzaffargarh DPO would also be suspended if an inquiry report about the incident was not submitted within 48 hours. The chief minister gave the victim’s family a cheque for Rs500,000. Earlier, the chief minister had suspended two SHOs.
Police have arrested Sub Inspector Noor Hassan and Constable Qayyum Dasti.
The rest of the suspects are still at large. While briefing the CM, the Muzaffargarh DPO said that the suspects would be arrested within 24 hours. This is the fourth self immolation incident by a woman in Muzaffargarh in two years.
Delegation meets CM
Pakistan comprises four federating units. Achieving similar levels of development in all four is essential for national progress and prosperity, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Wednesday.
He was talking to a delegation of journalists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“There is a need for united efforts for national progress and development. Punjab is playing an active role for the promotion of national solidarity by including all units of the country in its educational programmes.
People of all provinces and regions of Pakistan will have to strive for elimination of poverty and unemployment for achieving the goal of economic development and prosperity,” he said.
The chief minister said that the time had come for all political parties to work together for national progress and development. “The 180 million people of Pakistan want political jugglery to end. They are interested only in resolution of issues like energy crisis, terrorism and poverty,” he said.
He said that there was a need to rise above narrow differences and move forward with the force of unity. “The Punjab government has also included people of other provinces in its educational and health programmes.
Students of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir are benefiting from the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund scholarships, the laptop scheme and study tours to foreign countries,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 15th, 2015.
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