Tag: 8 march

  • Five suspects granted bail in two honour killing cases

    Five suspects granted bail in two honour killing cases

    Peshawar High Court has granted bail in two separate cases involving honor killings.

    The first case involved Swat resident, Akhtar Ali, suspected of being involved in the killing of his wife and another man over three months ago.

    The bail was granted by Justice Shahid Khan of a single-member bench, who directed the submission of two surety bonds of Rs200,000 each for Ali’s release.

    The incident, which took place on July 22, 2023, was initially reported at the Shaheedan Wenai police station in Swat under sections 302 and 311 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 15 of the Arms Act.

    The complainant in the FIR, station house officer of the police station, Mohammad Zaib Khan, claimed that he along with a police team went to the crime site after learning about the murder of a man and a woman and found out that the deceased were killed by the petitioner, who suspected that the two had an extramarital affair

    During the hearing, the bench noted that the case lacked substantial evidence against Ali.

    It added that the complainant in the case had neither disclosed the name of the person who informed him about the involvement of the petitioner nor did he produce any other “cogent and reliable information, which could prima facie spoke about the guilt or otherwise of the petitioner.”

    Lawyers Saeed Khan, Askar Khan, and Dunya Zeb, representing the petitioner, emphasized the absence of witnesses and evidence connecting Ali to the crime.

    They added that the murders took place at nighttime and that there was no evidence to connect the petitioner with the commission of the offense.

    Similarly, the court also granted bail to Habib Khan and his three sons – Talim Khan, Owais Khan, and Zarif Khan – from Lower Dir district.

    It accepted the joint bail petition of suspects on the condition of furnishing two surety bonds of Rs100,000 each.

    They were arrested on suspicion of the honor killing of Habib’s daughter-in-law, Nish Bibi, whose body was found at their residence on Sept 23, 2023.

    An FIR was lodged by the mother of the girl, who alleged mistreatment and torture by her husband and in-laws.

    The complainant claimed that her daughter was married to Dawood six years ago but she didn’t have kids and she often asked her husband for medical treatment.

    She claimed that for the same reason, relations between the couple were strained and that she was mistreated by her husband and in-laws and was also tortured by them.

    Legal counsel Shabbir Khan Daulatkhel defended the petitioners, maintaining that the prosecution’s case was founded on rumors, lacking any concrete evidence against the accused.

    The initial bail application of the petitioners was rejected on Oct 12, 2023, by an additional sessions judge in the Chakdara area of Lower Dir district.

  • Religious Affairs Minister criticises Aurat march without reading manifesto

    Religious Affairs Minister criticises Aurat march without reading manifesto

    Federal Minister for Religious and Minority Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri who has written a letter to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan asking him to put a ban on the Aurat March, appeared on Geo News’s programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath on Thursday night.

    During the show, Qadri said he does not have a problem with the Manifesto of Aurat March but has a problem with the way marchers express themselves by taking to the streets.

    To which the anchorperson asked him why he doesn’t criticise when other political parties, including PTI, when they take to street protests. Qadri replied saying that he raises his voice regardless of whomever is protesting but had a different response when asked about Tehrik-e-Labbaik’s violent protests.

    Khanzada asked while quoting Qadri: “You said that you do not want to make [Pakistan] a violent religious country, but when one organisation did processions,” and the organisation passed highly provocative remarks against the judiciary, the army chief and the prime minister, did hate speech, they even beat the police officer, you said that they have the right to protest. That organization is Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), you spoke in their favour. Here [Aurat March], women are protesting and we don’t see any examples that reflect what you are against but still, you are against them.”

    Qadri said that a few pictures from last year’s march were photoshopped and a few slogans were doctored but a few of them are genuine and are highly condemnable. However, he refused to mention the slogans, saying that he does want to repeat them.

    Qadri further added that he is not against the protest but he is against the way of the protest, as it’s against our cultural and religious values. He continued by saying that he is against “vulgar slogans”, based on ‘fabricated issues’ of women.

    Social media users are praising Shahzeb Khanzada for raising, ‘valid points’:

    https://twitter.com/Ranting_Expert/status/1494397933395062785

    Qadri, in his letter to the premier, wrote that March 8 should be observed as “International Hijab Day” rather than Aurat March.

  • Women of the world, unite!

    Tomorrow is International Women’s Day, which is celebrated worldwide. In Pakistan, many events are organised to mark Women’s Day. Aurat March, which has been held since 2018, will be marked with rallies in several cities, including Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi.

    This year, Aurat March Lahore’s theme is women’s health and the issues faced by women and gender minorities. They are demanding that the health budget be increased to 5 per cent of the GDP. Aurat March organisers have highlighted how violence has always existed for women and gender minorities in Pakistan since before COVID-19 but the lockdowns and social isolation resulting from the pandemic have further exacerbated physical, emotional and sexual violence against them across the country.

    It is quite unfortunate that Pakistan ranks 151 out of 153 countries on the Global Gender Gap Index Report 2020 index, published by the World Economic Forum. The only two countries lagging behind Pakistan are Iraq and Yemen. This is not a surprise given the way our patriarchal society treats women. From blaming rape survivors to practices such as honour killing, vinni and swara (exchange of women, especially young girls, to settle disputes between families), child marriage, domestic violence and many other such anti-women practices, Pakistani society does not make life easy for women.

    Sexual harassment cases when reported or talked about are brushed under the carpet. We have seen how women don’t just face offline harassment and violence but online harassment of women has increased manifold. It is but a manifestation of the anti-women bias in society. Women politicians, journalists and activists are targeted online on a regular basis. But it is good to see Pakistani women breaking these chains and raising their voices for women empowerment and their rights.

    From leading lights such as Fatima Jinnah, Benazir Bhutto, Asma Jahangir, Malala and many others who paved the way for women and young girls in our society, the struggle continues. It will take a long time to achieve equal rights for women but there is no reason to lose hope. We have seen that when women take a stand, it leads to the betterment of society at large.

    For an inclusive, tolerant and progressive Pakistan, women have to be treated as equal human beings. Women of the world, unite, for you have nothing to lose but your chains.