Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding a police officer having orchestrated the killing of his own daughter, Arifa Babbur, 21, in the name of honour to get property, cash, and a minor girl in compensation through a jirga, an illegal parallel judicial system. The murder has been facilitated by three brothers: one is in charge of a police station, the second is a notorious criminal wanted in several cases of murder, rape, and robbery, and the third one is the father-in-law of the victim.
Before her murder, while in illegal detention, Arifa telephoned a lady human rights activist, telling her that she is set to be murdered any time today, as her father had told her to recite Quranic verses, as the day would be the last day for her life. A total of 30 bullets were fired, out of which 22 hit Arifa’s body, and rest hit the walls of the room where she was kept in illegal detention for five days.
The police from two districts have tried to deny the incident but with the intervention of rights activists and ranking police officers, the conspiracy has unraveled. A session court’s judge has disassociated himself from the case after receiving threats inside the court. A Sindh High Court bench has granted protective bail to the father of the murdered woman in the month of July, which still continues to apply illegally.
CASE NARRATIVE:
Three brothers: Ghulam Abbas Babbur (Police Officer), Ali Nawaz Babbur, and Ali Sher Babbur (the father-in-law), have been living in three houses built within the same compound. Ali Nawaz Babbur is notorious criminal in Dadu District, Sindh Province, and is wanted in 10 cases for murder, robbery, and land grabbing by force. The victim Arifa Babbur was married to her first cousin, Mr. Ali Hasan, son of Ali Sher Babbur. Ali Hasan had been living in a Madrassa of a saint, at Karachi, 200 kilometers away, and had not been gainfully employed. The police officer, Inspector Ghulam Abbas, is known in the area to be a greedy man and as a specialist in extrajudicial killings.
The whole family, including the women of the family, had been suspecting that Arifa had inclinations towards a young student of Jam Shoro University, Mr. Manthar, and this was used as an excuse to eliminate her.
The plan of the family was to bracket the victim with Manthar, for having an illicit relationship, and kill her. Following the murder the plan was to call a jirga of the local tribe, to get property, cash, and a minor girl in compensation. It was decided, according to the victim’s aunt, that property would be given to her father, while the father-in-law would get the cash amount, and the minor girl in compensation would be handed over the notorious robber, to be married to his eldest son, who is mentally disabled, someone who cannot use the toilet without assistance.
According to information collected by ranking police officials, on 10 July 2015, the 21-year-old Ms. Arifa Babbur, resident of Jam Shoro District, Sindh Province, daughter of Ghulam Abbas Babur, the Station House Officer (SHO) of City Police Station, Dadu District, was murdered by her uncle, Mr. Ali Nawaz Babbur, a notorious robber, who killed his niece along with his henchmen. They did the shooting in the presence of her father, who came all the way from Dadu District, where he was in charge of a police station, so that the operation could be swiftly conducted, without interference from the local police.
Her father locked Arifa in her room at her in law’s house in Jamshoro District for five days. This was to confess that she had illicit relationship with Mr. Manthar, so that this could then be used an as excuse for killing in the name of “honour”, and to get compensation through the jirga.
One of Arifa’s aunts, the sister of her father, whose husband was also killed by Ali Nawaz for not marrying their daughter to his mentally disabled son, telephoned her, and asked her to contact one human rights activist, Ms. Bushra Sayed, CEO of Ajrak Welfare Organisation, who is well known for helping women victims of violence.
Arifa called Bushra and told her that she will be killed today (10 July 2015), as her police officer father had come with many criminals and asked her to recite verses from the Quran, the holiest book of Islam. Arifa also said that she had been detained in a room for five days. The human rights activist told her to contact the police help line, 15, and get help.
The victim told Bushra that the officer-in-charge of the Jam Shoro Police Station, Sub Inspector Allah Bachayo, is a good friend to her father, and he is well aware of all these things, so she cannot get any help from him. Bushra advised Arifa to run away, by jumping from her second floor building, and taking any vehicle headed for Karachi, from where she would help in every way. But, suddenly, the cell phone was switched off, and Bushra wondered if the battery of the cell phone had emptied. Next day, Bushra contacted Arifa again on her cell phone. This time it was picked up by another lady, who informed Bushra that the victim was shot and murdered the previous night and in the late hours she was buried in a local graveyard.
Arifa body received 22 bullets whereas eight bullet shots missed the target and hit the walls of the room. The incident occurred at her her father-in-law’s house, where she had been detained. It is alleged that when Arifa died, after being hit by two or three bullets, her father, Sub Inspector Ghulam Abbas Babbur, instructed the shooters to empty all the guns.
The house where the shooting occurred is not far away from the Jam Shoro Police Station but no one wondered about the sound of a rain of bullets, and the crying of women and children.
Activist Bushra immediately telephoned the SHO, Sub Inspector Allah Bachayo of Jam Shoro Police Station, inquiring about the murder and burial of Arifa in the late hours. The officer accused her of hallucinating and told her that no such incident has happened. The SHO argued with her that if she has the dead body of the victim, then she should produce it, and only then would the police will file a case. Bushra Sayed then contacted Deputy Inspector General (DIG) police, Hyderabad Range, Mr. Khadim Hussain Rind, and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Mr. Tariq Willayat, who took immediate action and suspended SHO Bachayo from the post.
Bushra also contacted a famous human rights activist, Ms. Amar Sindhu, to ask her to reach the spot. Her presence changed the situation. In the meantime, the SSP also arrived and forced the police to file a First Information Report (FIR).
The police have taken in to custody one younger brother, Nadeem, one of the perpetrators, who informed the police about the details of the whole incident and took the police to point out where Arifa’s body lay buried. The police found pieces of the body in polyethylene bags.
On the instruction of the DIG, a case of murder and illegal detention was filed on behalf of the court. The main perpetrator, Ali Nawaz, was arrested, along with his five henchmen. Father of the victim, SHO Ghulam Abbas, immediately took protective bail from the High Court bench of Hyderabad. According to the law, protective bail is granted for very small time, to facilitate the accused person to be presented before the court. But, the judicial system is so fragile that it remains under pressure from law enforcement agencies. The SHO is still under protective bail today. He has pleaded before the court that at the time of the murder, he was not in the city.
The SHO of Dadu Police Station, the father of the victim, today, continues to operate freely, and using notorious criminals, he threatens and intimidates judges and lawyers, and human rights activists. The judge of the Sessions Court of Jam Shoro has disassociated himself from the case, after receiving threats also for his family members.
The human rights activists, Bushra Sayed and Amar Sindhu are continuously receiving threats to their lives. A lady lawyer, Ms. Zarina Nawaz also began receiving threats and she disassociated herself from the case as well. Following the threats Zarina filed an application with the District & Sessions judge of Jam Shoro. And, a direction was issued for the protection of the female Advocate. However, the SSP did not take any action
The investigations conducted by the police have been purposely slowed down to spread the terror of the police. Arifa’s father is moving freely and intimidating the people of the area. At the time of submitting the final investigation report, the police officer placed 5 accused in Column 2 (i.e. innocent, not having committed an offence).
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write the letters to the following authorities so inquiry can be conducted and that all accused persons can be prosecuted, particularly Sub Inspector Ghulam Abbas, who has used his powerful position to facilitate the murder of his own daughter. The father of the victim Ghulam Abbas, and former SHO of Jam Shoro Police Station, Sub Inspector Allah Bachayo, must be arrested for their involvement in the murder of Arifa. The inquiry must also be conducted to probe the reasons why a postmortem was not conducted before Arifa’s burial and also about the incidence of extrajudicial killings allegedly committed by the SHO of Dadu police. He entire staff team in Dadu police station must be terminated from his post, otherwise the chance of a fair investigation is unlikely. Stop the police to change the FIR by converting it into column 2 to proof the all accused are innocent and no witness is available, which is a common practice of the police to save their brothers in uniform.
The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Violence against Women calling for his intervention into this matter.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ………………..,
PAKISTAN: Police officers facilitate murder of a young woman in a barbaric honour killing
Name of victims:
1. Ms. Arifa Babbur, 21, daughter of Ghulam Abbas Babur, Station House Officer of City Police Station Dadu District, resident of Jam Shoro District, Sindh Province.
2. Ms. Bushra Sayed, Human Rights activist and CEO of Ajrak Welfare Organisation, Karachi, receiving life death from perpetrators, Sindh
3. Ms. Zarina Nawaz Advocate, receiving life death from perpetrators, Karachi, Sindh
4. Ms. Amar Sindh, human right activist, resident of Hyderabad, Sindh, receing death threats from perpetrator
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Ghulam Abbas Babbur, Sub Inspector of police and station house officer (SHO), city thana Dadu and father of the victim, district Dadu, Sindh
2. Allah Bachayo, Sub Inspector of Police and former SHO of Jam Shoro police station, district Jam Shoro, Sindh
3. Ali Nawaz Babbur, uncle of the victim and notorious criminal of the Dadu district, Dadu, Sindh
4. Ali Sher Babbur, father in law of the victim, resident of Dadu district, Sindh
Date of incident: July 10, 2015
Place of incident: In the jurisdiction of Jam Shoro police station, Sindh
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding a police officer manipulated the killing of his own daughter, Arifa Babbur, 21, in the name of honour to get property, cash, and a minor girl in compensation through a jirga, an illegal parallel judicial system. The murder has been facilitated by three brothers: one is in charge of a police station, the second is a notorious criminal wanted in several cases of murder, rape, and robbery, and the third one is the father-in-law of the victim.
Before her murder, while in illegal detention, Arifa telephoned a lady human rights activist, telling her that she is set to be murdered any time today, as her father had told her to recite Quranic verses, as the day would be the last day for her life. A total of 30 bullets were fired, out of which 22 hit Arifa’s body, and rest hit the walls of the room where she was kept in illegal detention for five days.
The police from two districts have tried to deny the incident but with the intervention of rights activists and ranking police officers, the conspiracy has unraveled. A session court’s judge has disassociated himself from the case after receiving threats inside the court. A Sindh High Court bench has granted protective bail to the father of the murdered woman in the month of July, which still continues to apply illegally.
According to the information I received through police, media and human rights activists that three brothers: Ghulam Abbas Babbur (Police Officer), Ali Nawaz Babbur, and Ali Sher Babbur (the father-in-law), have been living in three houses built within the same compound. Ali Nawaz Babbur is notorious criminal in Dadu District, Sindh Province, and is wanted in 10 cases for murder, robbery, and land grabbing by force. The victim Arifa Babbur was married to her first cousin, Mr. Ali Hasan, son of Ali Sher Babbur. Ali Hasan had been living in a Madrassa of a saint, at Karachi, 200 kilometers away, and had not been gainfully employed. The police officer, Inspector Ghulam Abbas, is known in the area to be a greedy man and as a specialist in extrajudicial killings.
The whole family, including the women of the family, had been suspecting that Arifa had inclinations towards a young student of Jam Shoro University, Mr. Manthar, and this was used as an excuse to eliminate her.
The plan of the family was to bracket the victim with Mr. Manthar, for having an illicit relationship, and kill her. Following the murder the plan was to call a jirga of the local tribe, to get property, cash, and a minor girl in compensation. It was decided, according to the victim’s aunt, that property would be given to her father, while the father-in-law would get the cash amount, and the minor girl in compensation would be handed over the notorious robber, to be married to his eldest son, who is mentally disabled, someone who cannot use the toilet without assistance.
I was informed by high ranking police officials that, on 10 July 2015, the 21-year-old Ms. Arifa Babbur, resident of Jam Shoro District, Sindh Province, daughter of Ghulam Abbas Babur, the Station House Officer (SHO) of City Police Station, Dadu District, was murdered by her uncle, Mr. Ali Nawaz Babbur, a notorious robber, who killed his niece along with his henchmen. They did the shooting in the presence of her father, who came all the way from Dadu District, where he was in charge of a police station, so that the operation could be swiftly conducted, without interference from the local police.
I was shocked to know that her father, a police officer, locked Arifa in her room at her in law’s house in Jamshoro District for five days. This was to confess that she had illicit relationship with Mr. Manthar, so that this could then be used an as excuse for killing in the name of “honour”, and to get compensation through the jirga.
One of Arifa’s aunts, the sister of her father, whose husband was also killed by Ali Nawaz for not marrying their daughter to his mentally disabled son, telephoned her, and asked her to contact one human rights activist, Ms. Bushra Sayed, CEO of Ajrak Welfare Organisation, who is well known for helping women victims of violence.
Arifa called Bushra and told her that she will be killed today (10 July 2015), as her police officer father had come with many criminals and asked her to recite verses from the Quran, the holiest book of Islam. Arifa also said that she had been detained in a room for five days. The human rights activist told her to contact the police help line, 15, and get help.
The victim told Bushra that the officer-in-charge of the Jam Shoro Police Station, Sub Inspector Allah Bachayo, is a good friend to her father, and he is well aware of all these things, so she cannot get any help from him. Bushra advised Arifa to run away, by jumping from her second floor building, and taking any vehicle headed for Karachi, from where she would help in every way. But, suddenly, the cell phone was switched off, and Bushra wondered if the battery of the cell phone had emptied. Next day, Bushra contacted Arifa again on her cell phone. This time it was picked up by another lady, who informed Bushra that the victim was shot and murdered the previous night and in the late hours she was buried in a local graveyard.
I vehemently condemned that how brutal the police officers in dealing with the women. Arifa’s body received 22 bullets whereas eight bullet shots missed the target and hit the walls of the room. The incident occurred at her her father-in-law’s house, where she had been detained. It is alleged that when Arifa died, after being hit by two or three bullets, her father, Sub Inspector Ghulam Abbas Babbur, instructed the shooters to empty all the guns.
The house where the shooting occurred is not far away from the Jam Shoro Police Station but no one wondered about the sound of a rain of bullets, and the crying of women and children.
Activist Bushra immediately telephoned the SHO, Sub Inspector Allah Bachayo of Jam Shoro Police Station, inquiring about the murder and burial of Arifa in the late hours. The officer accused her of hallucinating and told her that no such incident has happened. The SHO argued with her that if she has the dead body of the victim, then she should produce it, and only then would the police will file a case. Bushra Sayed then contacted Deputy Inspector General (DIG) police, Hyderabad Range, Mr. Khadim Hussain Rind, and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Mr. Tariq Willayat, who took immediate action and suspended SHO Bachayo from the post.
Bushra Syed also contacted a famous human rights activist, Ms. Amar Sindhu, to ask her to reach the spot. Her presence changed the situation. In the meantime, the SSP also arrived and forced the police to file a First Information Report (FIR).
The police have taken in to custody one younger brother, Nadeem, one of the perpetrators, who informed the police about the details of the whole incident and took the police to point out where Arifa’s body lay buried. The police found pieces of the body in polyethylene bags.
On the instruction of the DIG, a case of murder and illegal detention was filed on behalf of the court. The main perpetrator, Ali Nawaz, was arrested, along with his five henchmen. Father of the victim, SHO Ghulam Abbas, immediately took protective bail from the High Court bench of Hyderabad. According to the law, protective bail is granted for very small time, to facilitate the accused person to be presented before the court. But, the judicial system is so fragile that it remains under pressure from law enforcement agencies. The SHO is still under protective bail today. He has pleaded before the court that at the time of the murder, he was not in the city.
The SHO of Dadu Police Station, the father of the victim, today, continues to operate freely, and using notorious criminals, he threatens and intimidates judges and lawyers, and human rights activists. The judge of the Sessions Court of Jam Shoro has disassociated himself from the case, after receiving threats also for his family members.
I was appalled by the act of police officers that perpetrators are threating to women activists from the jail. The human rights activists, Bushra Sayed and Amar Sindhu are continuously receiving threats to their lives. A lady lawyer, Ms. Zarina Nawaz also began receiving threats and she disassociated herself from the case as well. Following the threats Zarina filed an application with the District & Sessions judge of Jam Shoro. And, a direction was issued for the protection of the female Advocate. However, the SSP did not take any action
The investigations conducted by the police have been purposely slowed down to spread the terror of the police. Arifa’s father is moving freely and intimidating the people of the area. At the time of submitting the final investigation report, the police officer placed 5 accused in Column 2
I therefore, call upon you to hold a high official inquiry, not from the police department, be conducted and that all accused persons must be prosecuted, particularly Sub Inspector Ghulam Abbas, who has used his powerful position to facilitate the murder of his own daughter.
The inquiry must also be conducted to probe the reasons why a postmortem was not conducted before Arifa’s burial and also about the incidence of extrajudicial killings allegedly committed by the SHO of Dadu police. Further, the human rights activists and lawyers must be provided with security.
Yours Sincerely,
……………….
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1.Mr. Mian Nawaz Sharif
Prime Minister
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
Tel: +92 51 920 6111
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk, pspm@pmsectt.gov.pk
2. Mr. Syed Qaim Ali Shah
Chief Minister of Sindh
The Government of Sindh Province
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 2000
Email: pressecy@cmsindh.gov.pk
3. Mr. Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan
Minister
Ministry of Interior of Pakistan
R Block, Pak Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 9212026
Fax: +92 51 9202624
4. Mr. Sohail Anwar Khan Siyal
Minister for Home
Government of Sindh
Barrack 79, Pakistan Secretariat
Near MPA hostel
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9204456
Tel: +92 21 9201920-1
E-mail: secy.home@sindh.gov.pk
5. Mr. Tahir Shahbaz
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9213452
Email: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk
6. Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar, Karachi
Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9213220
E-mail: info@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk
7. Justice (Rtd) MajidaRazvi
Chairperson, Human Rights Development
Government of Sindh
Barrack number 92 Sindh Secretariat
4. B, opposite to Sindh Assembly Building
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 21 99207042-43
Fax: +92 21 99207044
E-mail: ministerhrd@sindh.gov.pk
8. Mr. Ghulam Haider Jamali
Inspector General of Police, Sindh province
Police Head quarter I.I Chundigar road
Karachi-PAKISTAN
Fax-+92-21-99212051
complaints@pprasindh.gov.pk
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
