Tag: (PM) Imran Khan

  • PM approves law for chemical castration of rapists

    PM approves law for chemical castration of rapists

    The federal cabinet has approved a law that proposes chemical castration as a punishment for convicted rapists.

    In a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday, the Ministry of Law and Justice presented a draft of an anti-rape ordinance. The draft proposes a fast-track trial in rape cases, effective involvement of women in matters pertaining to gender-based violence, maintaining a database of serial rapists, and witness protection.

    During the meeting, the prime minister said the government will not tolerate any lax attitude in the implementation of anti-rape laws and added that the safety of all citizens was the utmost priority of the government. The premier said the legislation will be clear and transparent with strict enforcement. He said the rape survivors will be able to register complaints without fear, adding that the government will protect their identity.

    During the meeting, some ministers also proposed public hanging for rapists, but the premier postponed this suggestion for another time.

    According to PM’s aide Senator Faisal Javed, the government needs to bring tougher laws to curb crimes against women. He said the new proposed legislation will be presented before parliament for approval.

    It may be noted here that Pakistan reported over 120 rapes from Oct 12 to Nov 24, according to a tally kept by The Current. Legal experts say that the rape conviction rate in Pakistan can be as low as 2 per cent, so instead of bringing harsher punishments, the government must focus on strengthening its criminal justice system to punish such crimes.

    From Oct 12-Nov 24: 123 rape cases and 11 death

    “The conviction rate drops even lower in cases where a minor has been raped. That is one of the reasons that rape is rarely reported,” the experts observed. They blamed social stigma attached to sex crimes and the ‘abhorrently misogynistic attitude’ of many police officials for the underreporting of rape cases.

  • PM wants to ‘kiss forehead’ of Kashmore ASI over exemplary courage in arrest of rapist

    PM wants to ‘kiss forehead’ of Kashmore ASI over exemplary courage in arrest of rapist

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has called Kashmore police senior superintendent police and assistant sub-inspector and lauded their action in the recovery of a 4-year-old minor held by an alleged rapist.

    In a tweet, the prime minister said that he spoke to ASI Mohammad Bux Buriro to appreciate him and daughter’s “exemplary initiative & courage in the arrest of Kashmore rapist”. He said he wanted to kiss his forehead and embrace him for his courageous action.

    The premier said the nation was proud of the father-daughter duo, adding the ASI through his actions enhanced the prestige of the provincial police. “Next week we are bringing a stringent, holistic anti-rape ordinance closing all loopholes,” the PM added.

    The Kashmore police had nabbed Rafique Malik — who was later killed in an alleged shootout — for allegedly raping a woman and her daughter hailing from Karachi. Malik had allegedly promised the woman a job at a toll plaza in Kashmore, and raped her when she visited him a week later, looking for work.

    The woman approached the Kashmore police, accusing the suspect of sexual assault. She said the suspect handed her over to another man, Khairullah Bugti, after the assault, who also raped her and took her daughter hostage.

    “The woman told police that the suspect held her minor daughter hostage, saying he would only let her go when she brought him another woman from Karachi,” reported Dawn newspaper.

    In order to nab the alleged rapist, the Kashmore police came up with a plan, wherein the ASI agreed to use his minor daughter as bait to make the arrest. The police successfully arrested Malik, who then led them to the address of Bugti.

    During a raid at Bugti’s hideout, Malik was killed in an alleged shootout between the police team and Bugti. “As soon as the accused Rafique Malik along with police reached at the spot, the co-accused Khairullah started firing in which Malik died and co-accused [was] arrested with weapons,” the Larkana DIG quoted by Dawn said.

  • PM accused of seeking Justice Isa’s removal, action against Geo’s Mir Shakil

    PM accused of seeking Justice Isa’s removal, action against Geo’s Mir Shakil

    A day after two Supreme Court judges criticised the federal government over a “mala fide” reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Prime Minister Imran Khan has been accused of seeking lawyers’ help for the removal of Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa.

    The claim was made by former Supreme Court Bar Association chairman Yasin Azad in a comment to Voicepk.net.

    Azad said the prime minister had met a delegation of the lawyers last month, wherein he allegedly asked them to help him get rid of Justice Isa. He alleged that Justice Isa’s free-spirited attitude “upsets” the government.

    During the meeting, the PM also vowed to teach Mir Shakilur Rehman, the owner of Geo, a lesson. Shakilur Rahman is behind bars in a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for over six months now in a case pertaining to allotment of plots 34 years ago.

    The media mogul was called to the NAB office in Lahore in March for submitting his answers to the questionnaire attached with a call-up notice and was subsequently arrested. A reference has also been filed against him and other accused by the NAB chief earlier this year.

    NAB has come under increasing criticism for acting against the critics of the Imran Khan-led government during the past couple of years.  

    On July 20, 2020, Pakistan’s Supreme Court, in an 87-page decision, ruled that NAB had violated the rights to a fair trial and due process in the arrest of two opposition politicians, Khawaja Saad Rafique and Salman Rafique, whom the NAB detained for 15 months without reasonable grounds.

    NAB, however, says it is independent in its decision-making process.

  • Khawaja Asif claims PM Imran wants to harm him, wife

    Khawaja Asif claims PM Imran wants to harm him, wife

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Khawaja Asif has alleged that Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to harm him and his wife by using his political opponents.

    Speaking on a TV show, the PML-N leader claimed the prime minister wanted his rivals to hold a protest outside his residence, target him in a road accident, and harass his wife by forcing her out of the vehicle.

    Asif further alleged that the PM desired to get him beaten up or implicate in a narcotics case in order to teach him a lesson. He said that he wanted to raise these issues in the National Assembly, but he was not allowed by the NA speaker to talk. The lawmaker, however, said he has spent a lifetime on the opposition benches and will not cower down by such tactics.

    On Monday, the PM mocked Asif over his claim that he had called army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa over reports of rigging on the election night. Imran claimed that Asif called Gen Bajwa on election night in 2018, crying while fearing defeat, and seeking his help to win from the NA-73 constituency of Sialkot.

    “There’s a prominent rangbaaz [charlatan] from Sialkot who thinks highly of himself… makes tall claims… but it was revealed that on election night he called Gen Bajwa at 8 pm, weeping and seeking his help to win the election,” the premier said during an animated address to a Tiger Force convention in Islamabad.

    Calling him “Rangbaaz Khawaja”, PM Imran quoted Asif as appealing to the army chief that he would be destroyed if Gen Bajwa didn’t help him win the election against Usman Dar of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).