Tag: Punjab

  • 12 women raped daily on average: report

    12 women raped daily on average: report

    According to The News, War Against Rape (WAR), an advocacy organisation, published a report based on data taken from Punjab Home Department and Ministry of Human Rights which reveals that 21,900 women were raped in the province between 2017 and 2021. This indicates that an average of 12 women were raped daily or one woman assaulted every two hours.

    However, as per the organisation, this number is only representative of a small portion as many cases are not reported due to stigma, fear, victim-blaming, and systemic biases in the justice system.

    18 per cent of women are subjected to early and forced marriages. There are about 19 million child brides at the moment. Sindh has legalised marriage for boys and girls at 18 while other provinces have set the age for girls at 16.

    Karachi
    As per the police surgeon’s office in Karachi, there were 3,649 cases of domestic violence reported in 2022.

    WAR team investigated 66 cases of different forms of sexual violence from July 2022 to June 2023.

    The News highlighted statistics from the report: 44 survivors were children under 18 years with the most vulnerable age group being 4-11 years; the average age of survivors was only 13 years, with the youngest survivor being mere four years old; and of these cases, 85 per cent involved women and female children.
    A total of 35 of the 66 cases were of rape, 11 were gang rape cases, another 11 were attempted rapes, and nine involved incest.

    Additionally, in 10 cases, boys were also victims while 12 children were murdered after being subjected to sexual violence, including nine girls and three boys.

    Korangi has been deemed a red alert zone as it has the highest sexual violence cases with 31 per cent, followed closely by Surjani Town with 30 per cent of reported cases.

    The Saeedabad area reported 11 per cent of the cases, Iqbal Market nine per cent, Orangi Town seven per cent, Mehmoodabad six per cent and Gulshan-e-Iqbal reported five per cent of the cases of sexual violence.

    Cases underreported
    The official data from three major public hospitals of Karachi revealed the conduction of 1,256 medico-legal examinations (MLEs) in sexual assault cases from January 2021 to December 2022 whereas only 499 first information reports (FIRs) were filed in this same duration.

    WAR report stated: “This underscores the urgent need for improved mechanisms to encourage survivors to report incidents. In the first six months of 2023, Pakistan witnessed a harrowing increase in child sexual abuse cases, with an average of 12 children sexually abused daily, totalling 2,227 cases. The comparison with 2021-22 data shows a disturbing upward trend in child sexual abuse cases.”

    Workplace harassment
    The News highlights that the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH) reveals that more than 2,000 complaints were filed between 2018 and 2022 in the government sector and around 1,400 cases in the private sector, involving both men and women.

    “Due to harassment, a large number of complainants end up leaving their jobs or normalising the harassment and hostile work environment. This discourages women from entering the workforce and restricts them from reaching financial independence”

  • Woman arrested in Tandlianwala for false blasphemy accusations against neighbours

    Woman arrested in Tandlianwala for false blasphemy accusations against neighbours

    A woman has been arrested by the Tandlianwala City Police in Toba Tek Singh after she threatened to falsely accuse neighbours of desecrating the Quran.

    Under the First Information Report (FIR) filed under Section 211 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 16 of the Punjab Maintenance of the Public Order Ordinance 1960 , 21 complaints claimed the woman was a drug dealer. According to Dawn, when the culprit was confronted by local residents about her alleged activities, she threatened to desecrate the Holy Quran and blame the neighbors and ignite violence within the community.

    According to witnesses, the woman threatened to falsely implicate her neighbours in the Quran desecration case in the Jaranwala incident that took place on August 16.

    Police have arrested the woman and shifted her to the Faisalabad district jail.

  • TW: FIR registered against landlord for raping maid, forcing her to get abortion

    TW: FIR registered against landlord for raping maid, forcing her to get abortion

    Trigger warning: rape, sexual violence

    A case has been registered against feudal lord, Ali Raza Arain by the Model Town police in Burewala, Punjab, for raping his maid for several months, then forcing her to get an abortion when she got pregnant. According to Express Tribune, Arain raped his maid on gunpoint, recording a video of the act. He allegedly continued to rape her for several months, blackmailing her by threatening to upload the video on social media.

    In the First Information Report (FIR), the survivor said she got pregnant after several months of repeated sexual torture. She was then forced to get an abortion. The survivor filed a case with the Model Town police after which an FIR was registered against Arain.

    The news follows a string of cases of househelpers being abused and tortured by their employees. On July 25, Rizwana, a child domestic helper was beaten by Somia Asim, the wife of a civil judge. In her official statement given to the police on August 18, the survivor recounted how she was beaten with sticks, iron rods and other objects.

    READ MORE: ‘Judge’s wife tortured me daily’: Rizwana speaks up

    In Sindh, the case of a 10-year-old domestic maid, Fatima, grabbed headlines when the child was found dead at the home of a spiritual pir. An autopsy conducted after exhumation of the child’s body showed extensive proof of rape and beatings. Pir Asad Ali Shah, the main suspect, remains in police custody.

    READ MORE: TW: Post mortem report shows 10-year-old Fatima was raped vaginally, anally allegedly by Pir

  • Public Holiday on Sept 7 in Lahore

    Public Holiday on Sept 7 in Lahore

    A public holiday has been announced by Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi to observe the annual Urs (death anniversary) of Data Ganj Bakhsh Syed Ali Hajwari on Thursday, September 7, in Lahore.

    Naqvi announced the holiday on Monday after his visit to the Data Darbar in Lahore.

    The Urs will last for three days, starting Tuesday and going on till Thursday. The CM states that efforts are being made to make better arrangements for the event, reports Geo.

    “We also held a meeting with the commissioner about the langar khana so that everyone who attends the celebration can eat,” he said. He also stated that the best qawwals will be arranged for mehfil-e-samaa.

    Plans have also been chalked out for Lahore’s traffic, with arrangements for parking facilities keeping security clearances in mind.

  • Wife stoned to death in DG Khan over ‘honour’

    Wife stoned to death in DG Khan over ‘honour’

    A married woman from the Alkani tribe has been allegedly killed by her husband and his allies over ‘honour’. According to Dawn News, the stoning took place in the limits of Chucha Border Military Police (BMP) station in the tribal area of Rajanpur district.

    Local sources have said that the woman was accused of adultery with a man, leading to her husband killing her, along with her brother-in-law and their accomplice. They reportedly smashed her head with stones and clubs.

    While the woman died, the suspects managed to flee the scene.

    According to Dawn News, the BMP in Chucha tribal area has filed a case against the suspects under different sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including 302 (murder), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), and 311 (punishment for murder if act taking place in order to facilitate the commission of a crime).

    The sources also highlighted a case from about two years ago when a woman was subjected to a tribal ritual locally called Aus (trial by fire) Auf (trial by water) in which an accused person walks on burning coals to prove his or her innocence or remains underwater, for the duration of their breath.

    The woman back then had successfully walked on burning coals without suffering burns on her feet, thus proving her innocence.

    Political Assistant Qasim Gill confirmed to Dawn that BMP teams are conducting raids to apprehend the escaped suspects.

  • Sarhad paar drugs kon smuggle kar raha hai?

    Sarhad paar drugs kon smuggle kar raha hai?

    Do you remember the news of a drone carrying drugs falling near Kahna?

    This year in July a drone carrying six kilograms of drugs, worth millions of rupees, crashed in the outskirts of Lahore. Recently a case has been registered against a senior official of the Lahore police, who headed the anti-narcotics wing of the city police, for alleged involvement in cross-border drug smuggling via drones.

    Lahore Deputy Inspector General (Investigation) Imran Kishwar confirmed the “involvement of a DSP”, saying that the official was booked by the ANF.

    “We have constituted a high-powered committee of senior police officers to further expand the scope of the investigation into the illegal cross-border smuggling of the drug,” the DIG told Dawn.

    He said that Lahore SSP Internal Accountability (IAB) Tauqeer Naeem would head the committee while SP Crime Record Officer Aftab Phularwan and a DSP would assist him in this matter.

    According to departmental sources, the issue was escalated to the prime minister after reports suggested that some elements were sending drugs from Kasur to India through drones. They further suggested that a gang of drug traffickers were using unmanned aerial vehicles to smuggle huge quantities of methamphetamine (locally known as ice) from Lahore to India.

    Sources said a drone could carry up to six kilograms of drugs, which would be delivered at a given location in Indian Punjab after flying across the border.

    Departmental action has already been initiated against the police officer, DIG said, adding that further proceedings would be made in the light of the inquiry report.

    The use of technology to smuggle drugs sent alarm bells ringing in ANF, evident from recent arrests made by the force.
    A subsequent probe revealed that DSP Mazhar Iqbal, who secured interim bail after a case was registered against him, was also involved in the alleged smuggling.

    The smugglers on both sides of the border were using “some means of communication to get alerts about the delivery of the drug”, the officials said.

    They added that payments against these drugs would be made in the UAE.

  • New dengue cases reported across Punjab

    New dengue cases reported across Punjab

    New cases of dengue are being reported across Punjab. In Lahore alone, 18 confirmed cases have been reported in the past 24 hours while 83 confirmed cases were reported in less than a week.

    According to Dunya News, more than 30,000 dengue hotspots were found in the city by the government officials. Doctors are advising people to strictly follow standard operating procedures (SOPs).

    Similarly, dengue cases in Rawalpindi crossed 100 last week with at least 13 more patients diagnosed in the last 24 hours while 63 FIRs registered, 18 tickets issued, and 28 premises were sealed.

    District Coordinator Epidemics Prevention and Control Dr Sajjad Mehmood said the Rawalpindi administration registered as many as 1,802 FIRs on violations of anti-dengue SOPs from January 1 to date in various areas of the district.

    The Express Tribune has reported that the district administration, in collaboration with allied departments, had sealed 438 premises, issued tickets to 646 and a fine of Rs31,33,000 was imposed on violations of dengue SOPs in 2023.

    On August 23, Business Recorder reported that up till now, since January 1, 2023, a total of 678 confirmed dengue cases had been recorded in all the 36 districts of Punjab but fortunately there have been no deaths.

    Punjab Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare Dr Jamal Nasir has stated that on directions of caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi, special dengue centres have been established in district and tehsil headquarters hospitals, which will provide free treatment to dengue patients.

    Dr Nasir has also claimed that larva monitoring has been increased throughout Punjab and strict legal action will be taken against the violators.

  • Gold price reaches Rs234,000 per tola, nearing new record high

    Gold price reaches Rs234,000 per tola, nearing new record high

    Gold prices in Pakistan continued to rise on Tuesday, influenced by the Pakistani rupee’s decline against the US dollar and an uptick in global prices. 

    According to the All Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association, the cost of 24-carat gold settled at Rs234,500 per tola, marking a substantial increase of Rs4,600. Similarly, the price of 10 grammes of gold rose by Rs3,944 to reach Rs201,046.

    It is expected that the price of gold might reach unprecedented levels due to the relentless and rapid decline of local currency against the greenback.

    The movement of gold prices in Pakistan closely follows the path of the US dollar due to the country’s reliance on gold imports. 

    The Pakistani rupee saw a notable decrease, falling to a new all-time low against the US dollar. It ended at Rs299.01 rupees per dollar, reflecting a decline of Rs1.88, as reported by the State Bank of Pakistan.

    Currency experts attribute the surge in gold prices to the recent depreciation of the rupee. 

    With growing concerns about the country’s economic situation, investors are turning to gold as a safe-haven asset. This shift has resulted in a significant increase of Rs12,700 per tola in just one week.

    Read more: PKR to USD rate

    Notably, the hike in gold prices coincided with political turmoil and a decrease in the local currency’s value, leading to an all-time high valuation of Rs240,000 per tola on May 10, 2023. On the international front, the price of gold saw a $10 increase, reaching $1,901 per ounce on Tuesday.

  • Policemen being investigated for filming female colleagues for TikTok without their permission

    Policemen being investigated for filming female colleagues for TikTok without their permission

    A TikTok video has been circulating across Twitter (now X) recorded by two male police officers of the Punjab police. The video shows female police officers in the middle of a meeting, being recorded without their knowledge. The video has been dubbed with a Bollywood song while the policemen give unprofessional expressions.

    When the video was criticized by Twitter users, the official page of Punjab Police responded, condemning the action and stating that an investigation against the two men is underway.

  • Another monsoon spell to hit Punjab from Sunday

    As many districts in Punjab deal with intense heat, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has predicted rainfall in the coming days.

    As stated by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the weather will remain hot and humid across the majority of Punjab. Nevertheless, the province is anticipated to experience monsoon rains from August 13 to 16.

    Substantial rainfall is forecasted for Sialkot, Narowal, Shakargarh, Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat, and Mandi Bahauddin. Additionally, there’s likelihood of rain accompanied by thunderstorms in Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal, Murree, and Galliat.

    The PDMA has affirmed that water levels in the Chenab, Ravi, Jhelum, and Sutlej rivers are within normal range, while Taunsa along the Indus River is experiencing minor floods. Tarbela and Mangala dams are currently at 95 percent of their capacity.

    Simultaneously, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted hot and humid conditions across most parts of the country in the next 24 hours. However, there’s an expectation of rain, wind, or thundershowers in northeastern Punjab, the Potohar region, Islamabad, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Kashmir. In the central and southern parts of the country, there are chances of strong winds capable of raising dust.