UPDATE (Pakistan): Mother and daughter allegedly gang raped by the police and government henchmen 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received further information regarding the abduction of two lower caste women, a daughter and her mother, by the henchmen of the State Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights as well as by the Kabirwala police of Punjab province on 25 August 2006 (See further: UA-297-2006). It has now been revealed that the daughter and mother had been also allegedly gang raped.  The victims were afraid to discuss the rape after their release since the Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent of police Khanewal-punjab allegedly threatened to kill them.  It is also believed that the nature of threats have been orchestrated by the Minister himself.  This atrocity only become known after Ms. Mumtaz Mai (the mother) went to a female doctor to stop the bleeding that she was suffering as a result of the rape. The mother then disclosed that both her and her daughter had been raped by no less then 10 attackers.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

The two lower caste women are from the Batti community. Miss Ghazala Shaheen who completed her M.A. in Education from Baha uddin Zakaria University against the wishes of the upper caste Mirali and her mother Ms. Mumtaz Mai were both allegedly kidnapped by the Kabirwala police and 12 persons associated with the Minister of State on Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights at roughly 1:00 am on 25 August 2006.

Both of the victims were kept for 12 days in the private custody of the abductors and gang raped until local people raided the house that they were kept captive, caught three of the perpetrators and helped release the victims. The victims were not telling the whole story under the tremendous pressure from Superintendent of Police District Khanewal, Mr.Shahid Anees, Deputy Superintendent of Police Circle of Kabirwala Mr. Daud Hasnain and Station Head officer of Saddar police station of Kabirwala Mr. Mehboob Rabbani. The police allegedly threatened that if they told their story to anyone, they (the police) will not only parade them nude throughout the area but will also arrange for a fake police encounter to kill her father and brothers. It is known through local human rights organisations and activists that when the women were released and recording their statement, telephone calls from Minister were allegedly made to the police that instructing them not to allow the women to tell were gang rape.

The full details of the case is, that Miss Ghazala Shaheen who is a part of the lower caste “Batti”, graduated first class with a Master of Arts (MA) in Education. On 25 August 2006, she went to her house at the Chak Sher Khan village, Kabirwala Town some 50 kilometres away from her Zakarya University to inform her parents about her success. The news about her completion of the MA spread in the village like fire. This news provoked the people of the minister of state for law and human rights and also the tribal elders of upper caste namely “Mirali”.

The same night when people of the Chak Sher Khan returned to their homes after extending greetings to the victim’s family, some policemen in uniform, with five to six armed men of the federal minister allegedly reached the house of victims at 1:00 am and forcibly entered, severely beating her father Mr. Muhammad Hussain, a retired military man with, boots, iron sticks and with the butts of guns. They then allegedly kidnapped Miss Ghazala and her mother Mrs. Mumtaz Mai. They dragged the victims for about one kilometre from their house, while the entire time beating them. The victims were then forced to sit on two motor cycles, one policeman was driving and the girl was sitting in between him and another officer behind her, with the same happening to her mother. All the while, they were teased by the police.

On August 27, a relative of the victims named Mr. Abdul Rasheed Batti, who is a teacher at a local school, contacted the local office of the human rights organization named the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, after getting no response from the local police on what had happened.  Also on August 28, he contacted the representatives of different organisations including PRIME. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan went to the offices of Station House Officer (SHO) Mr. Mehboob Rabbani, Superintend of Police (SP) Mr. Shahid Anees and Deputy Inspector General of police (DIG) Multan to request that the case be registered and demand that girl and her mother be released from the henchmen of the federal minister of state.

However, the police officer allegedly refused to file a case against the perpetrators as they belong to a higher caste and also the men of a State Minister of Law Mr Raza Hayat Heraj. The Deputy Inspector General of Multan told the human rights activists it was a case of old enmity and no abduction took place, rather the girl and her mother ran away from her house on their own wish.

The Deputy Inspector of Police then told the activists that this kind of thing happens generally when there is a dispute between lower and upper castes. Therefore he refused to register a case. On August 28, a case involving the disappearance of the victims was registered in the Saddar police station of Kabirwala through the intervention of another minister named Mr. Hasnain Jani of the provincial government of Punjab.

On 5 September 2006, people of the Kabirwala town informed the police about a house where the alleged perpetrators were present with the abducted women and her mother.  The Deputy Superintendent of Police Circle (DSP)-Kabir wala, Mr. Daud Hasnain came himself and raided the house and arranged for the alleged perpetrators to escape with the women and her mother. But the local people caught one car which was carrying the women and her mother and got control over three of the accused persons, one was identified as Nazar Mohammad, while the other two are guards of Mr. Raza Hayat Heraj who is the federal Minister for State on Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights.

When they all were brought to the police station at Kabirwala, the police did not allow the mother and her daughter to meet with relatives and local human rights activists. At 5:00 pm, DSP Mr. Daud Hasnain arranged a press conference and said that this is a case of old enmity and nothing had happened to the girl and her mother. But the mother was not talking and all the time she was weeping but the girl said that they were kidnapped and kept in a small room where they were only given water and food once a day.

Later on the next day she told journalists and human right activists, including the AHRC that the captors were all the time beating them and using filthy language. She said that if people had not secured her release, she and mother would have been raped and then killed by the police and the abductors. She said that when the abductors learnt that a case is also filed by the intervention of another provincial minister of Punjab, Mr. Hasnain Jani, they then panicked and started taking harsh steps against them. Beside this, Judicial Magistrate of Kabirwla received a medical report from the local government hospital that confirmed that the both victims were gang raped. Till date, the police have not registered any case against the alleged perpetrators regarding this incident despite all these evidence.

Police have not arrested the other persons involved particularly Mr. Mohammad Nawaz who is said to be the right hand man of the minister. Police also released a guard and another person who were caught by the local people during the raid on the house where women and her mother were kept and tortured. Police are also threatening Mr. Abdul Rasheed Batti who is the teacher and Mr. Allah Ditta who belong to the same lower caste Batti. They are also the ones who mobilised local people to act out against the injustice.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities as mentioned below urging them to immediately intervene in this case and provide the victims full protection from the alleged perpetrators and to take legal actions against the alleged perpetrators including the high officials of police and to register a case of gang rape.

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