A District and Sessions Court in Islamabad has accepted the bail plea of the accused, Somia Asim, the wife of the judge suspected of beating her minor house maid, Rizwana.
A hearing was held on the bail application of the Somia Asim in the Rizwana torture case where the court accepted Somia Asim’s bail application against a surety of one lac rupees.
Rizwana’s family was also present in the court at the time.
Somia Asim, wife of Civil Judge Asim Hafeez, had allegedly beaten up and tortured a minor house help at home.
ARY news has reported that Khairpur police have released four accused in the murder case of 10-year-old Fatima again.
SHO Ameer Chang, Dr Fatah Memon, Dr Ali Hasan Wasan and medical dispenser Imtiaz Merasi have been set free as they were not named in the FIR.
“The evidence of innocence of four accused has been presented to the Joint Investigation Team headed by DSP Abdul Qadoos Kalor,” the Investigation Officer said.
On 28 August, Pakistan Today reported that according to sources having knowledge of the matter, the ‘deal’ is struck through an ‘agent’ of a high-ranked police officer in the Fatima murder case۔
Moreover, according to police sources, the arrested doctor, compounder, the MS, would be released from the Fatima murder case under a “deal of Rs5 million.”
On Tuesday, Ejaz Khaskheli, the driver of prime suspect Asad Shah’s wife Hina Shah, was arrested in Karachi by Khairpur Police while 11 others were also taken into custody from Asad’s mansion.
As reported by Dawn, according to Khairpur SSP Mir Rohail Khoso, Khaskheli was accused of helping Hina Shah in escaping arrest and went into hiding himself.
In Court
On 29 August, local court extended Pir Asad Shah’s physical remand by one day on the request of the police in 10-year-old Fatima’s case.
Shah was produced in the court after his three-day physical remand was completed.
The investigating officer told the court that because the provisions of the Terrorism Act have been included in the case, it should be transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Court.
The court also handed over Asad Shah’s driver Ijaz to the police on judicial remand for facilitating him.
Suspects re-arrested
Four suspects in the 10-year-old Fatima case have been rearrested after a short release on Sunday, 27 August.
The suspects included SHO Ameer Chang; two doctors Dr. Fateh Memon and Dr. Ali Hasan Wasan and hospital worker Imtiaz Meerasi.
According to Investigation Officer (IO) Qazi Bachal, they were released on evidence of their innocence. However, they are still under investigation.
The four were accused of concealing facts, concealing crime and neglect of duties.
Samaa News reported that no suspect was produced in court and that they were free without any investigation allegedly due to political pressure.
Additionally, on Saturday, Judicial Magistrate Khairpur extended the physical remand of Pir Asad Shah, the main suspect in the Fatima murder case, by three days.
Previously
Pir Asad Shah, the main suspect in the Fatima murder case at Ranipur Haveli in Khairpur, was being facilitated by a local SHO of police to remain in contact with his mureeds [followers], Geo News reported.
Earlier, DIG Sukkur Javed Jaskani had said in a conversation with Geo News that the police will not accommodate any pressure in the case.
The seven days long bail period of Hina Shah, another suspect in the case, has also ended.
Pir Asad Shah is the main suspect in the killing of 10-year-old Fatima who was found dead at his Haveli. The child, who was working as a domestic servant at the pir’s Haveli, was hastily buried. However, subsequent exhumation and autopsy revealed that Fatima had multiple injuries over her body, and had been raped vaginally and anally.
Four suspects in the 10-year-old Fatima case have been rearrested after a short release on Sunday.
The suspects included SHO Ameer Chang; two doctors Dr. Fateh Memon and Dr. Ali Hasan Wasan and hospital worker Imtiaz Meerasi.
According to Investigation Officer, Qazi Bachal, they were released on evidence of their innocence. However, they are still under investigation.
The four were accused of concealing facts, concealing crime and neglect of duties.
Samaa news reports that no suspect was produced in court and that they were free without any investigation allegedly due to political pressure.
Additionally, on Saturday, Judicial Magistrate Khairpur extended the physical remand of Pir Asad Shah, the main suspect in the Fatima murder case, by three days.
Previously
Pir Asad Shah, the main suspect in the Fatima murder case at Ranipur Haveli in Khairpur, was being facilitated by a local SHO of police to remain in contact with his mureeds [followers], geo.tv has reported.
Earlier, DIG Sukkur Javed Jaskani had said in a conversation with Geo News that the police will not accommodate any pressure in the case.
The seven days long bail period of Hina Shah, another suspect in the case, has also ended.
Pir Asad Shah is the main suspect in the killing of 10-year-old Fatima who was found dead at the Haveli. The child, who was working as a domestic servant at the Haveli, was hastily buried. However, subsequent exhumation and autopsy revealed that Fatima had multiple injuries over her body, and had been raped vaginally and anally.
More cases linked to Ranipur Haveli
Recently, National Commission for Human Rights tweeted that four children, along with their mothers, have been rescued from Ranipur Haveli in Khairpur, where they had been working.
However, more troubling details emerged from the Haveli where 10-year-old Fatima was previously found dead.
A 20-year-old girl named Sana has reportedly gone missing from the Haveli.
She was a resident of Meena village in Qamber. According to Geo, Sana’s father Deedar Gurhmani said that he sent his daughter to the haveli of Pir of Ranipur Syed Sohail Ahmed Shah, one and a half years ago, “for trust and protection until his problems were resolved”.
It was about a month ago that Shah called him to tell that Sana had disappeared. When Gurhmani tried to get more details, Sohail told him off.
While the family still does not know about her whereabouts, the parents claim that the police have still not lodged a complaint regarding the girl’s disappearance despite their insistence.
They also appealed to higher authorities to help find their daughter.
Sindh caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retired) Maqbool Baqar has taken notice of the incident and has directed the Sukkur divisional commissioner and DIG to ensure the safe recovery of the missing girl.
Previously, Fatima’s mother stated that her daughter had been burned with hot iron, had her hair pulled out, and was also sexually assaulted.
As reported by Samaa news, Fatima’s mother has claimed that hundreds of teenage girls are held as maids by the Pir’s family. These girls are the daughters of mureeds, each of whom is supposed to send one girl to ‘serve’ the Pir. They are kept as domestic workers and can meet with their families only if the mureed allows it.
According to a representative of Khairpur Civil Society (KCS), “There are mureeds who willingly entrust their children to Pirs as they view it as an honour,” while others are financially unstable and give their children at the Pir’s service so that they have shelter and food.
The representative, however, says that not all Pirs are like this, “there are good and bad people everywhere”.
However, social activist and a member at Sindh Human Rights Commission, Dr. Aisha Hassan Dharejo, tweeted the account of two more girls working at the haveli. They, too, have been subjected to torture and sexual abuse.
SP Mir Rohal Khoso responded to the tweets saying that their statements have been recorded “so that the element of torture in this particular case may be evident and the case be stronger, to ensure conviction”.
یہ دوں لڑکیاں بھی اُسی حویلی کے وکٹم ہیں جہاں سے فاطمہ کا لاش گھر پہنچا تھا ان کے ظلم کے داستاں سُنیں ،یہ حویلیاں جہاں بچوں سے جبری کام لیا جاتا ہے جہاں پر عورتوں اور بچیوں کو جنسی طور پر حراساں کیا جاتا ہیں جہاں پر بچیوں کو تشدد کا نشانا بنایا جاتا ہے @khalidkoree@NJLahoripic.twitter.com/WhE7kMWqWr
10-year-old child named Fatima Phuriro has been found dead under suspicious circumstances in Ranipur city, District Khairpur.
The child had been working as a domestic worker at a haveli owned by an influential local, Pir Asad Shah Jilani.
Fatima’s mother, Shabana, was informed about the death by the employer who asked her to remove the body from the premises where two of Fatima’s sisters are also employed.
According to DIG Sukkur Javed Jiskani, the parents initially did not share the facts of the case with the police and claimed that the girl was suffering from gastroenteritis. While her diagnosis was also confirmed by Dr Abdul Fatah Memon who treated her, the DIG revealed that Fatima was taken to the hospital either by the Pir or his staff and that the SHO was present at the time she was pronounced dead.
It was not until videos of torture were leaked by an unknown source and circulated in social media that the case caught media’s eye. By then, the family had buried Fatima on August 15.
As per police sources, CCTV footage from the house’s bedroom also revealed Fatima in a troubling state. In the video, the child can be seen lying on the ground. She tries to get up, then gets agitated, before collapsing. A woman later enters the room with another minor maid. They both try to wake the girl up. When they fail to do so, a man gets up from the bed and tries to shake her awake.
Journalist Riyaz Sohail claimsedthat the police had been trying to coerce the relatives to remain silent about the incident.
DSP Qudoos Kalwar met Fatima’s parents and reported the seriousness of the case to the DIG and demanded exhumation of the body. After being taken into confidence, Shabana revealed details to the SSP Khairpur district Rohail Khoso. “The parents were told that if they didn’t disclose facts, police will take action on their own, and they will go for exhumation and lodge a case,” the DIG said.
Moreover, according to Dawn.com, Sindh Director General Health Dr Irshad Memon believes that the doctors’ reports about her examination needed to be verified.
The SSP ordered to conduct a DNA test in case of apprehension of rape.
“My daughter had a fractured arm. She had bruises and some marks — apparently of torture — were there on her body, especially around her neck and belly.”, described Shabana.
According to Geo reports, Shabana claimed that Fatima was subjected to torture for several days and that she died as a result of multiple injuries.
DIG Sukkur formed a team headed by an SSP, and ordered an investigation into the matter. He also ordered to that the body of the child be exhumed to verify the allegations of torture. The investigation team also includes DSP Counterterrorism Department Sukkur Abdul Qudoos Kalwar and ASP Gambat, Noman Siddiqui.
The DIG also suspended SHO Ranipur Ameer Chang.
Furthermore, the police arrested Pir Asad following the registration of an FIR under Sections 302 (qatl-i-amd; premeditated murder) and 34 ( acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the PPC on the Shabana’s complaint.
Asad has denied all charges and said that his family’s name is being tainted. He says that Fatima’s death was caused by a stomach ailment.
As Fatima Phuriro’s case came to the fore, rumours circulated that the alleged murderer, Pir Asad Shah Jilani, is the son-in-law of PPP vice chairman, Syed Fayyaz Shah.
Bakhtawar Bhutto dismissed these rumours while condemning the murder in her latest tweet.
For sheer political hatred people are projecting blame away from the demented perpetrator (who personally speaking should be burnt alive for his sins) & instead deflect to somehow blame PPP – the only party that has actually legislated against both child labour & child marriage. https://t.co/LXVoX3LDTZ
Qazi Asif, a Sindh based senior journalist, has on Sunday shared the autopsy report of 10-year-old Fatima who was found dead in suspicious circumstances at the haveli of a pir in Ranipur. Viral footage filmed most likely on CCTV cameras inside one of the bedrooms in the house showed the child collapsing on the ground, after rising up in a distressed state from a makeshift bed on the ground.
A man, purportedly Pir Asad Shah Jelani, a member of the notable Pirs of Ranipur, can allegedly be seen in the video, rising from bed and trying to wake the girl up.
The post mortem examination has confirmed her parents’ fears, revealing that the 10-year-old domestic worker was raped both vaginally and anally. The report also pointed out multiple injuries all over her body.
Islamabad police have arrested a woman after yet another case of torture on a minor working as domestic help in a house.
Andaleeb Fatima, 13 was named as the victim in the FIR, filed by her mother, Khalida Bibi, a resident of Chiniot in Punjab. Andaleeb had been working for the accused woman since July of this year and according to her mother, she was unable to talk to her daughter since was not allowed to do so by her employer.
It was only when Khalida Bibi visited Fatima after several unanswered calls that she found out about the torture inflicted upon her daughter. She found bruises on different parts of her daughter’s body. Fatima told her mother that her employer routinely beat her and tormented her with a hot spoon. She also locked her up and did not feed her food.
On Khalida’s arrival, the employer locked mother and daughter in a room so that they are unable to speak against her. However, later, she released them from confinement and sent them off without Andaleeb’s salary.
Andaleeb has been admitted in a hospital for medical examination while investigation into the case has been initiated. The registered case is based on the charges of 328-A (cruelty to a child), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).According to Dawn.com, the accused was presented before a magistrate’s court and was later sent to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on judicial remand.
Rizwana, a teenaged victim of domestic torture, awaits justice. Her case, with horrifying details of injuries, is being followed with great interest by the public, mainly because the main suspect, Somia Hafeez, is the wife of civil judge Asim Hafeez. Somia has been charged with allegedly physically torturing the girl, who worked as a maid in her home, after accusing her of stealing jewellery.
But will the courts be fair in their judgement?
In 2016, 10-year-old Tayyaba, working as a domestic worker, was severely tortured by her employees. Tayyaba, a native of Faisalabad, was living in Islamabad to work and financially support her family after her father lost a finger. The employers in question were Islamabad judge Raja Khurram Ali Khan and his wife.
According to Dr. Tariq Iqbal, who was heading the medical board, the girl had “some burns, some traumas, some lacerations, some blisters [on her body]”.
In April 2018, the couple was found guilty and sentenced to 12 months in jail. The sentence was increased to three years by Islamabad High Court in June 2018, following an appeal by prosecutors, with a Rs500,000 fine.
However, in 2019, the verdict was reversed as Tayyaba’s lawyer claimed that no abuse was inflicted on the convict and that her bruises were “accidental” while the statement she gave in court during cross-examination was “memorised like a parrot”.
Resultantly, in 2020, the apex court set aside the three year sentence and maintained the one-year jail term for the convicts.
Like Tayyaba, will 14-year old Rizwana be left at the whims of power? Will she too one day say that the injuries she has, requiring surgeries and stays in ICU wards, were incurred accidentally?
Will justice be served? Or delayed and denied once again?
Teenage domestic helper Rizwana has received plastic surgery from doctors on her face, while her head injuries were disinfected during the procedure, ARY has reported. Hospital sources say the procedure was three hours long, while the possibility two or three more plastic surgeries in the future cannot be ruled out.
“She was shifted to the ward after applying bandage on her wounds,” the doctors said.
The horrifying case shocked Pakistan when the teenage domestic helper was tortured and abused while working at a civil judge’s home in Islamabad, after she was accused of stealing jewelry. The family has revealed the girl was not paid a single penny by the family for the extensive workload she was doing.
Since the case went viral, actress and children rights activist Nadia Jamil spoke out publicly against employing children for domestic labor, leading a campaign to get the perpetuators arrested, while prominent celebrities like Mahira Khan, Wahaj Ali and Hamza Ali Abbasi have also lend their voice.
Jamil shared an update yesterday that Rizwana had opened her eyes, but was still in casts.
Look who can open her eyes now! A reminder they were viscously gouged. Alhamdolillah Alhamdolillah Shukar Alhamdolillah they are now opening.
She is still in casts from fingers to shoulders in both arms. Her wouldn’t are still open and healing slowly. She’s still susceptible… pic.twitter.com/w5eeQjxv1v
An Islamabad court has on Tuesday reserved verdict on appeal to grant physical remand of Somia Asim, the wife of a civil Judge accused of torturing Rizwana.
During the hearing, the police requested the court for the suspect’s physical remand for further investigation. The defense lawyer argued that the police have been investigating since Somia Asim got arrested, and emphasizing that she has nothing to do with it.
Furthermore, Somia while giving her statement to the court, shared that she has been facing a lot of criticism and pressure, even though she has not been proven guilty yet. She said that she’s a mother of three and with the current circumstances she feels like committing suicide.
Stating that she is being given a “media trial”, Somia also complained about media coverage while she is being brought to the court, to which the judge replied that it doesn’t matter because she is fully covered and no one could see her face.
The judge also inquired about the victim’s health. Rizwana’s sister apprised the court that she is doing better and has been shifted out of the ICU.
Later, the court reserved the verdict.
On Monday, the main suspect Somia Asim was arrested from the court after her bail plea was rejected.
The court went on to issue an arrest warrant against Somia Asim, the wife of a civil judge, after she presented herself in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Farrukh Farid.
During the court hearing, Asim’s lawyer claimed that she had appeared before the JIT and proclaimed her innocence. He stated that police records did not indicate any instances of violence committed by Asim. In addition, the defense attorney maintained that Somia had tried to send the minor girl back multiple times and had eventually handed her over to her mother.
However, the plaintiff’s lawyer contested the claims, stating that Rizwana, aged between 13 and 14, had been repeatedly subjected to torture. According to him, employing a minor is an illegal act in itself. He pointed out that the civil judge and his wife should have been aware of this illegality. He further claimed that there were allegations of blackmail against the girl’s parents.
He questioned how parents could cause such severe injuries to their own daughter and pointed out that the medical report of the girl had not been challenged by defense lawyers.
The plaintiff’s lawyer questioned the basis on which the accused was seeking an extension of her bail. He argued that if women are granted bail in such grave cases, it would lead to societal decay.
The shocking incident of severe torture on a teenage maid allegedly perpetrated by the wife of a civil judge in Islamabad has sparked widespread outrage and condemnation. The victim, a resident of Sargodha, was shifted to Lahore General Hospital, prompting an investigation into accusations against the judge’s wife.
According to the doctors of the General Hospital in Lahore, the next 24 hours are critical for the teenaged domestic worker allegedly tortured by an Islamabad Judicial Complex administrative officer and his wife.
Rizwana, 13, is admitted at the General Hospital to receive treatment for the injuries she sustained. The girl’s condition was better at night but became critical in the morning.
On the other hand, new charges have been added to the First Information Report (FIR) after Rizwana’s recent medical report was issued.
A section on attempted murder and one about breaking bones have been added to the case registered at the Hamak police station in Islamabad.
The shocking incident of severe torture on a teenage maid allegedly perpetrated by the wife of a civil judge in Islamabad has sparked widespread outrage and condemnation. The victim, a resident of Sargodha, was shifted to Lahore General Hospital on Monday, prompting an investigation into accusations against the judge’s wife.
Despite the public outcry, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has granted protective bail until August 1 to Soumia Asim, wife of Civil Judge Asim Hafeez. Authorities have said that investigation into the matter is ongoing and all involved individuals are being probed, with appropriate legal action being taken.
The Islamabad police have also recorded statements from both the victim and her father, though the medical report is still awaited. Despite the gravity of the crime, the investigation is being conducted by the relevant police station and not by the Special Sexual Offence Investigation Unit (SSOIU) under the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021, which has a specific mandate to handle offenses against juveniles.
Efforts to apprehend the accused have so far proven unsuccessful. The police conducted raids in Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Gujranwala but were unable to locate the judge’s wife, who had obtained pre-arrest bail.
According to the medico-legal certificate (MLC) issued for the teenage girl, the extent of her injuries was distressing. The report revealed lacerations on her head, face, and body, including broken teeth, bruises, and signs of strangulation. The girl’s harrowing ordeal came to light when her father, a laborer, filed a complaint with the Humak police station. Initially displaying reluctance, Islamabad police eventually registered a First Information Report (FIR) on July 26, charging the judge’s wife with criminal intimidation and wrongful confinement.
However, the FIR made no mention of the physical torture the victim endured, even though the medical report clearly pointed to such abuse, as reported by Dawn.
As public awareness of the case grows, civil society and human rights organizations have called for a thorough investigation and the appropriate punishment of those responsible for subjecting the young maid to such cruelty.
The case has highlighted the issue of child labor, which is considered a criminal offense under the law. The public is urged to report any such incidents to the police to protect vulnerable individuals from abuse and exploitation.
More than two-thirds of the world’s soccer balls are made in one of Sialkot’s 1,000 factories, including the Adidas Al Rihla, the official ball of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which begins this month.
Approximately 60,000 people, or 8 per cent of the city’s population, work in the soccer ball manufacturing industry in Sialkot. They frequently put in long hours and sew the panels of the balls by hand.
In Sialkot, hand stitching is used in more than 80 per cent of the soccer balls produced. This time-consuming method increases the soccer ball’s durability and aerodynamic stability. Compared to stitches made by machines, the seams are deeper and the tension is higher.
Bloomberg reports that stitchers make about Rs160 ($0.75) each ball. It takes three hours to finish each one. A stitcher can make roughly Rs9,600 per month by stitching three balls per day. The earnings are modest, even for an impoverished area. According to researcher estimates, a living wage for Sialkot is close to Rs20,000 per month.
Women make up the majority of those who sew the balls. They might sew two balls in a typical day, go home to prepare meals for their kids, and then go back to work in a nearby village in the late afternoon.
Usually, men prepare supplies or do quality checks at various phases of the production process. The industries in Sialkot employed kids as young as 5 alongside their parents up until labour laws were passed in 1997. According to a 2016 assessment, the sector in Sialkot is threatened by the ban on child labour since it “took away a large slice of a prospective skilled generation,” creating a persistent worker shortage.
About 40 million soccer balls are purchased annually worldwide, and sales are anticipated to increase during the World Cup.
The data has been compiled by the Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO) and the Centre for Research, Development and Communication (CRDC). The cases that have been reported in mainstream media are added in the report.
Punjab
A total of 77 cases of physical assault were reported in Punjab — 93 women in Punjab were abducted, 47 cases of sexual assault cases were recorded. As far as domestic violence cases are concerned, Punjab reported 58 cases. Three honour killing incidents took place. At least five cases of workplace harassment were reported in the province. In July, 42 children were sexually abused and 30 children were kidnapped. Meanwhile, 10 children were murdered and eight child labour cases were reported. 10 cases of physical violence against children were recorded. The province also reported three cases of child marriage.
Sindh
Sindh recorded 34 physical assault cases. A total of 20 cases of abduction took place, 16 women were subjected to rape, 15 cases of domestic violence were reported and in the name of honour killing, four women were killed in Sindh. Moreover, two work harassment incidents were reported in the province. Over July, 21 children were sexually abused,13 children were kidnapped from Sindh, 14 children were physically abused while five children were murdered in the province. Three cases of child marriage were reported.
Islamabad
Six incidents of physical assault occurred in the capital and 15 cases of kidnapping were reported. 10 cases of rape were reported. Four cases of domestic abuse were reported. Ten children were sexually abused and eight children were kidnapped. Two incidents of physical abuse against children were reported and two children were murdered.
Balochistan
The province had no reported case of physical assault. Two cases of abduction were reported during the month of July. Balochistan reported one rape incident. When it comes to domestic violence, Balochistan registered zero such incidents. Three children were sexually abused in Balochistan and four children were kidnapped. No physical abuse case was reported. Two children were murdered.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
16 incidents of physical assault were reported, three cases of abduction occurred, 11 cases of rape were reported and17 cases of domestic violence were reported in KP. 32 children were sexually abused and 27 children were kidnapped. 11 cases of physical violence against children were reported and three children were murdered. One child labour case was reported.
