Tag: Sara Shah Nawaz

  • Shahzeb won’t get justice: the fault in our laws

    Shahzeb won’t get justice: the fault in our laws

    The Supreme Court acquitted Shahrukh Jatoi as well as his accomplices in the Shahzeb Khan murder case. Jatoi, a scion of a rich and influential family, has gotten away with murder, which is a prime example of a miscarriage of justice. Ten years ago, Jatoi and his friends killed 20-year-old Shahzeb Khan. Jatoi also flew out of the country to escape the law. He was eventually brought back. Later, Shahzeb’s family pardoned him as they faced threats. Not many can forget how the 20-year-old was shot dead for trying to stop Jatoi and company from harassing his sister, and also the way the system protected them. Although the victim’s father was a senior police officer, the police would not register an FIR against the accused.

    In this particular case, we should not forget the role of the Sindh government that consistently facilitated Shahrukh Jatoi because of his influential father. And now our superior judiciary has set him free. Imagine what must be going through the minds of Shahzeb’s family members who not only lost a young loved one but will not have to deal with the trauma of seeing Shahzeb’s murderer being set free. The justice system has indeed failed them the most.

    History will remember that a murderer has been acquitted by our courts. He will be walking freely, out in the open. A complete threat to everyone around. They say justice delayed is justice denied. However, in Pakistan, a murderer has been set free because of our laws, especially the Qisas and Diyat laws. A pardon was signed but in such cases, power and intimidation lead to such pardons. Jatoi getting away with murder makes us question our laws and judicial system. It seems that these laws not only favour those who are powerful but are used quite frequently in murder cases.

    Should the powerful and wealthy be allowed to get away with such crimes? It’s the fault in our laws that mercy to men like Jatoi. Who is next on the list to walk freely: Zahir Jaffer or Shah Nawaz Amir?

    As a country, we are still dealing with the horrors of the murder of Noor Mukadam. We haven’t healed as a nation and have witnessed the bone-chilling gruesome murder of Sara Shah Nawaz at the hands of a man who too was raised as a result of the patriarchal norms in the country. In Pakistan, powerful men can get away with anything, even murder, without any repercussions. Our society and justice system have failed the men and women of Pakistan.

  • Sarah murder case: Police arrest mother of Shah Nawaz

    Sarah murder case: Police arrest mother of Shah Nawaz

    Samina Shah, the mother of Shah Nawaz, the prime accused in the Sarah Inam murder case and the wife of renowned political analyst Ayaz Amir, was detained by Islamabad Police on Wednesday.

    Shah was detained by the police after Additional Sessions Judge Sohail Sheikh rejected her request for release.

    The Capital Police arrested Samina Shah upon rejection of her bail extension by the Additional Sessions Judge Sheikh Sohail. Earlier, Samina’s interim bail was extended till October 19.

    Sameena, in a petition filed with an Islamabad sessions court, has said that she has no link with the murder. Offering details of the grisly incident, she has stated that her son had sent her a message on Whatsapp to arrange his wife’s rukhsati by speaking to her father just one night before the crime.

    She further said that Shah Nawaz called her on her mobile phone at 9:12 am the following day to inform her about the incident.

    “The petitioner asked Shahnawaz to sit in her room and Ayaz … had called the police and within a few minutes, the police had arrived and took custody of Shahnawaz,” she said in the plea.

    The Canadian national who had been working in the United Arab Emirates since a few years, was killed with a blow to her head with a dumbell, allegedly by her husband Shah Nawaz. The high-profile murder rocked Islamabad in the last week of September.

  • Pakistani men, time’s up: We will no longer tolerate another Zahir and Shahnawaz

    Pakistani men, time’s up: We will no longer tolerate another Zahir and Shahnawaz

    The age of uncertainty grappling Pakistan is rather appalling. Lately, women in Pakistan and around the world are nothing but just another hashtag. Their name, story, and pain last only till another hashtag replaces them. We as a country are still dealing with the horrors of the murder of Noor Mukadam. We haven’t healed as a nation and now we have witnessed the bone-chilling gruesome murder of Sara Shahnawaz at the hands of a man who too was raised as a result of the patriarchal world in Pakistan.

    A harrowing murder took place in Islamabad on Friday morning. The daughter-in-law of senior journalist Ayaz Amir was murdered in Islamabad. 37-year-old Sara was found murdered at a farmhouse in Chak Shahzad. According to details, journalist Ayaz Amir’s son Shah Nawaz killed his wife at their home with a gym dumbbell. After murdering her, the accused dumped her body in a bathtub. Senior Journalist Ayaz Amir expressed his grief and shock over the murder of his daughter-in-law by his son.

    In Pakistan, men get away with crimes against women, which is why they think they can even commit murder without any repercussions. Our society and justice system have failed the women of Pakistan. It is because of these attitudes that Pakistan ranks as the second-worst country on the gender gap index.

    The story of Masha Amini from across the border is equally tragic. The 22-year-old Iranian woman breathed her last days after being arrested by a police unit responsible for forcing Iran’s strict dress code for women. She was arrested for not complying with hijab rules. Mahsa Amini was beaten while inside a police van when she was picked up in Tehran on Tuesday. Photographs of Mahsa lying in a hospital bed have gone viral, showing the young woman in a coma with her head wrapped in bandages and breathing through tubes. #MahsaAmini became one of the top hashtags on Persian-language Twitter as Iranians fumed over the death of Amini. Later we saw that women in Iran protested against the death of Amini by setting their hijabs on fire. Her death sparked widespread protests in Iran.

    What is happening to women across the world is a reminder that all this is about control, power, and oppression. One of the key reasons women are marginalised is because a powerful and educated woman leads to a powerful and educated community. Women need to be empowered by those in power. We as individuals have failed. We have failed our women and young girls. The silence of the state on matters that need the most attention is rather appalling. For how long will people keep suffering? What are our policymakers doing to make the lives of people in Pakistan better? Who should the families of the victims look up to? Who will give them justice? The beasts who killed their daughters are very much alive. Who will bring solace to the plight of the mothers and fathers of the one dead at the hands of men who could not take no for an answer or whose temper was so fragile that they had to kill women when they raised their voices for their rights.