ISLAMABAD, Feb 15 (APP): Legislators Saima Nadeem and Laal Malhi on Tuesday demanded the Sindh government to provide protection to women amid the growing incidents of harassment and other crimes against women in the province.
Speaking at a joint press conference here, Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Inter-provincial Coordination Saima Nadeem and Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Human Rights Laal Malhi called for an independent and impartial Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe into the matter in which Dr Parveen Rind had accused administration and hostel staff of People’s University of Medical and Health Sciences for harassment and torture.
Saima said instead of providing protection to Parveen Rind the victim of harassment who spoke out against perpetrator Ghulam Mustafa, the poor girl was subjected to physical and mental torture.
Dr Parveen was also receiving death threats, she said.
Appreciating the Sindh High Court’s suo motu notice of the matter, she said that the process was time consuming. To provide speedy justice, she called for the establishment of independent JIT. Considering the gravity of the matter, she stressed Sindh government to replicate the reforms introduced in the Criminal Justice System by the Federal Government.
She warned the provincial government in a firm manner that women would come out and launch sit-ins as protest unless the matter was brought to justice.
Speaking at the occasion, Malhi said a sense of fear and insecurity had engulfed the people of Sindh as the universities and other educational institutions of the province had become unsafe and dangerous for daughters.
Lawlessness seemed to have become a norm, he added, while referring to an incident in which two women were abducted from their homes and then raped. What was more was that police refused to register First Information Report (FIR), he informed.
He also said that there was a perfect match of the specimens obtained from the bodies of Dr Nimrata and Dr Nosheen Shah – saying both were murdered by the same man.
He said that Dr Nimrata’s judicial inquiry report had still not appeared before public and stressed for a speedy and just public inquiry.
In response to a question, the parliamentarian stressed the need for de-politicization of institutions, police in particular. He said that senior police officials were transferred on political basis; as a result, “Police is responsible to feudal lords, when it should be answerable to the public.”
He said that there was a lack of political will which prevented attempts at any betterment.
Replying to another question, he said that after the 18th amendment law and order became a provincial subject. Hence, it was not the mandate of Federal government to interfere in the matters of the province.
It is pertinent to mention that both the members of National Assembly belong to Sindh.