A woman was sexually assaulted inside a government hospital in Karachi’s Orangi Town on September 22.
However, the suspect was arrested by the police on Thursday (September 26).
Dawn reports that the victim stated in the First Information Report (FIR) that she got her daughter admitted to the children’s ward in Qatar Hospital, Karachi. Her infant was suffering from a high fever. Upon the doctor’s advice, she went outside the ward late at night to bring medicines for her child. At around 2:30 am, a young man grabbed her hand and took her to a room where two other men were already present.
She told the police that the suspects tried to assault her sexually, but a watchman and other hospital staff came to her rescue. The suspect arrested by the police was nominated in the FIR along with two unknown suspects.
The police registered the case under Section 354/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which pertains to assault or criminally forcing a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty.
An Angolan national was arrested at Multan Airport in an attempt to quash cocaine smuggling. The foreigner had arrived from Muscat. He allegedly swallowed dozens of cocaine capsules and was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF).
Express News reported that the alleged smuggler was carrying 48 capsules filled with cocaine in his stomach.
The total weight of the recovered capsules was 624 grams, said the ANF spokesperson.
The arrest was made as part of an operation against drug smuggling.
The spokesperson stated that foreign nationals, particularly from African countries, have been involved in drug smuggling activities in Pakistan. Most of the foreigners arrested in connection with smuggling cases this year have been from African nations.
The arrested foreign national has been charged under the Anti-Narcotics Act, and an investigation is going on to uncover more details about the smuggling operations.
This is not the first time ANF has arrested a foreign national. A Nigerian man was found with 38 cocaine-filled capsules hidden in his stomach last month, at Lahore airport.
Express Tribune reports that this year, authorities have already conducted seven operations, arresting eight Nigerian individuals, and recovered 11,420 kilograms of drugs.
A local court in Bahawalpur has handed down a sentence of 20 years rigorous imprisonment and a one million rupees fine to a madrassa teacher for the attempted rape of a 10-year-old girl student.
The verdict was announced by Additional Sessions Judge Muhammad Ashiq on Wednesday, and the incident happened in 2023 at Sohanra Arian village.
Dawn reports that the prosecution lawyer told the court that the 10-year-old daughter of complainant Malik Usman used to go to Qari Abdul Aziz (60) to learn the Holy Quran. However, on February 26 last year, when she did not return home from the madrassah, Malik Usman, along with some others, set out to search for her and upon entering the teacher’s room (at the madrassah), they found him sexually abusing the girl.
The victim also told her father that the teacher had been abusing her sexually for some time.
The father then registered an FIR against the teacher under section 377-B which pertains to offence of sexual abuse in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) The accused was then arrested.
The court ordered that in case of default on payment of the fine, the convict will have to under go an additional imprisonment of six months.
A young female student of Multan’s Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture was killed when a campus bus hit the bike she was driving on one of the pavements inside the campus.
Manahil, 21, was studying in the fifth semester of biochemistry. Her bike was hit by a speeding university bus right when she entered the campus. She reportedly died on the spot.
SHO Rao Mehtab told DAWN that the girl’s motorcycle hit the bus. However, instead of stopping, the bus ran over her.
The SHO also said that the victim’s father Shaban did not want to lodge a complaint with the police.
Vice Chancellor of the university Ishtiaq Rajwana told DAWN that CCTV footage of the incident showed that the girl tried to turn left but could not do so and rammed into the bus. He defended the bus driver, calling him “experienced” and said that “It was the fate of the girl that she came under the bus.”
A viral social post is claiming that Manahil’s body was left in scorching heat on the campus for several hours, while officials waited for the Vice Chancellor to arrive. Her parents were told by university administration to sign papers that stated that they will not be filing cases against the university. Only then they will be allowed to take their daughter’s body home for burial.
A lady police constable was allegedly assaulted and fatally shot by her male colleague in a busy lane of Lahore’s Harbanspura area on Tuesday.
Female constable Soman (27) was serving in the anti-riot wing of Lahore police. She was shot dead in presence of passersby with three bullets.
The alleged killer was identified as policeman Farooq, who managed to escape the crime scene.
As per witnesses, Farooq was in plainclothes when he first assaulted the woman (also in plainclothes) on a greenbelt near Canal Park, where locals intervened and eventually overpowered him.
An initial investigation states that locals and passersby didn’t call the police, assuming that the two were related to each other.
However, Farooq pulled out a pistol and fired shots in the air to terrorise the people who had gathered there. People then rushed towards shelter.
The suspect then reportedly shot the woman thrice and fled the scene while she died on the spot.
A police team arrived at the spot shortly after being informed and cordoned off the crime scene.
During the investigation the police team recovered her woman’s service card from her purse, identifying her as a constable.
While the body was shifted to the city morgue for autopsy, an FIR was registered against the fleeing suspect as well.
Police investigation has not been able to ascertain the motive behind the murder yet. Teams have been dispatched to trace and arrest the male cop.
A sub-inspector (SI) of the Islamabad police has been arrested for detaining two minor children illegally and physically abusing them.
The police official said on Monday that the children- aged 10 and 12 respectively, were detained by the SI for two days.
The relatives of the children lodged a complaint with the police stating the policeman picked up the children and detained them in a police station before physically assaulting them.
The police official later dropped them off at an Edhi centre.
Inspector General of Islamabad Police Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi ordered an inquiry and asked his subordinates to investigate the matter.
Police found out that the two minors were begging in Islamabad’s Karachi Company commercial area on September 16. The policeman took the children to the Shams Colony station. He kept them in illegal detention for two days and then dropped them at Edhi centre on September 18.
The relatives of the children claimed the police official abused them during the two days. A medical examination also confirmed their allegations.
The SI has been suspended and a case has been registered.
Dawn reports that the SI is now behind the bars while departmental proceedings have been initiated against him.
A grand funeral was held on Sunday (September 22) for Dr Shah Nawaz, the man suspected of blasphemy and killed in an alleged extrajudicial encounter by Sindhri police in Mirpurkhas, in his native village near Umarkot. Thousands of funeral attendees chanted angry slogans against the extremist wave of religiosity in the garb of the blasphemy law, resulting in the brutal murder of the medic. The participants belonged to all walks of life and came from all around Sindh, including Karachi.
It was reported that a charged mob which burnt the body of the slain suspect consisted of the far-right Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan and other groups. In the videos, the crowd at the funeral could be seen chanting loudly, “Mullah gardi band karo, dehshagardi band karo” (stop this extremism by religious leaders, stop this terrorism).
Dr Shah Nawaz’s grave was also adorned by the Sindhi traditional shawl Ajrak as people sang a folk song at his final resting place.
Many attendees also paid homage to Premo Kohli, a Hindu, who buried the remains of the slain doctor.
The doctor was killed by police after it was alleged that he shared blasphemous content on his Facebook account.
The last video of Dr Shah Nawaz has also emerged online, in which he said that he doesn’t use Facebook anymore. “The ID is very old, under the name Shah Nawaz Shah. I haven’t used it in a long time. I have already mentioned that I’ve stopped using Facebook.” He went on to add, “There’s is nothing to hide, I’m being transparent about everything. I will have everything investigated.” He pleads people not to label him as a disbeliever as he is open to all sorts of investigations. “Let the police do their work,” he asserted.
Earlier, his mother shared her son’s inclination towards Islam, stating that he used to pray five times a day and sent her to Hajj last year.
In the same video, his daughter also asked for justice for her father. “The policemen must be brought to justice! They killed my father, they should be locked up in jail,” she demanded.
Dawn quotes Dr Shah Nawaz’s wife, who said that her husband used to teach the Quran to young children. “How could he indulge in blasphemy?,” she asked.
The police team involved in the alleged encounter have been suspended by the Sindh police and an investigation is underway.
Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar was fatally shot by police in an alleged extra-judicial killing in Mirpurkhas on September 19, a day after he was arrested on allegations of blasphemy.
A Christian woman was sentenced to death on Thursday for committing online blasphemy under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).
Dawn reports that the woman is a mother of four. She had previously sought bail from both the trial court and the Islamabad High Court (IHC), but her bail applications got rejected by both.
Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka convicted the woman under Section 295 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 11 of PECA laws. While Section 295 strictly pertains to blasphemy laws, Section 11 of PECA laws deals with hate speech.
The law states that “whoever prepares or disseminates information, through any information system or device, that advances or is likely to advance interfaith, sectarian, or racial hatred shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years or with a fine or with both”.
Along with the death penalty, the court also imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on the woman.
A private citizen by the name of Shiraz Ahmed lodged a complaint against the woman in the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cyber crime wing. The case was then brought to the court.
The first information report (FIR) states that the womam is accused of posting blasphemous content about the Holy Prophet (PBUH) on social media in September 2020.
However, FIA registered the case against her on July 29, 2021.
The family of slain blasphemy suspect Abdul Ali has forgiven the Quetta police constable who killed him last week while he was in custody.
The police officer had accessed the police station by pretending he was his relative before opening fire on him.
Abdul Ali’s family spoke to the media along with the chief of the Nourzai tribe Haji Faizullah Nourzai who stated, “The family and tribe have nothing to do with the dirty act of blasphemy committed by the suspect.”
The family condemned the slain suspect for alleged blasphemy, saying, “We never hesitate to render our lives in the honour of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him).”
“We have pardoned the police official Saad Muhammad Sarhadi in the name of Allah and unconditionally so,” the family said, adding that they would not fight a case against the police official in any court of law.
Senator’s solidarity with the policeman
Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Pakistan’s senator Abdul Shakoor Khan expressed solidarity with the policeman during a Senate meeting, saying that he would bear all his legal expenses.
“The police officer shot him because he expressed distrust in the legal system,” the senator said. “It is wrong in terms of Shariat and the law.”
“I don’t blame the police official, I blame the legal system,” he said further adding that “we will not tolerate anyone issuing blasphemous remarks against the Holy Prophet”.
Those accused, who should be hanged within 10 hours, undergo trials for months,” Senator Khan opined while speaking on the floor of the upper house.
Previously, it was reported that a policeman in Quetta shot dead an elderly man accused of blasphemy inside a lockup of the Cantt police station.
Abdul Ali, a hotel owner, was detained by the Kharotabad Police after a video went viral on social media on Wednesday and a case was registered against him under Section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code.
As per the FIR shared by activist Faraz Pervaiz, Abdul Ali was seen speaking in his native language in the video, allegedly making objectionable remarks about Khatm-i-Nabuwwat (finality of prophethood) and the Holy Prophet (PBUH) went viral.
A case was registered against him following the video’s circulation.
Post his arrest, a large number mob gathered outside the Kharotabad police station, demanding that he be handed over to them. The videos of these clashes also went viral on social media.
A senior Quetta police officer told the BBC, “Khorotabad police station was unsafe due to the presence of a large number of protesters, so the accused was transferred to Cantt police station.”
There, a police constable fired at and killed Abdul Ali inside the station.
The cop “suddenly opened fire on the suspect who was in the police lockup,” Inspector General Police Balochistan Moazzam Jah Ansari told Dawn, adding that he used his own pistol.
Reports indicate that the police constable has been identified as Syed Khan Sarhadi by social media users but Dawn reports his name to be Saad Sarhadi, who was arrested, and an investigation is ongoing.
The police stated that instead of transferring Abdul Ali’s body to the civil hospital, the concerned police surgeon had been called to a safe place for post-mortem.
Social media is flooded with videos of locals not allowing the burial of the accused in the cemetry while also coming in to congratulate the father of the policeman who killed Abdul Ali.
It is the first incident of its kind in Quetta, where a serving police officer gunned down a suspect of blasphemy charges while in custody.
A young boy named Usama was kidnapped and tortured to death on Wednesday in Faisalabad for allegedly stealing cricket bats from a cricket club.
The incident happened on Cinema Road in Faisalabad.
Usama’s mother Rukhsana Shafiq, a resident of Gulberg Colony, registered a complaint in the local police station. She stated in the FIR that the suspect, Shahan, a cricket player in an indoor cricket club located on Cinema Road, along with the 10 accomplices, kidnapped her son.
She claimed that the suspects took Usama to their club, where they severely tortured him and his friend, Samraiz Khalid, who was already there. The suspects accused them of stealing bats from the club.
When her son’s condition deteriorated, he was shifted to the nearby Allied Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
Usama’s friend Samraiz is under treatment in the hospital.
The police have taken Shahan into custody and is conducting raids to arrest his accomplices while an investigation is underway.
