PPP MPAs, NGO jostle for custody outside court
March 23, 2008
Karachi
An unusual rush was witnessed in the court of Judicial Magistrate (JM) East on Saturday, when the accused Khadim Hussain and victim Razia Kubra of the Mazar-e-Quaid rape case were produced before the court. A number of PPP women MPAs along with party workers were calling for the accused to be hanged to death while shouting slogans of ‘Jeay Bhutto.’
Shehla Raza, a newly-elected MPA from the PPP women’s quota, said that, on receiving information of the incident, she immediately rushed to the Imambargah to get custody of the victim, who was allegedly gang raped by some five to six persons. At this stage, she also said that one of the NGOs, War Against Rape (WAR), tried to grab the victim to gain some ulterior motives, she claimed.
However, when The News approached WAR, they outrightly rejected the allegations, and instead said that the PPP wanted to politicise the case and had rather attacked one Khalida, a member of WAR.
The blame game was continued even in the court’s vicinity, when the victim was produced before the court. The ‘power’ on behalf of the victim was presented by three different organisations - WAR, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and the PPP’s women’s wing, headed by Shehla Raza.
Moreover, even Shama Mithani, also a PPP MPA and Shehla Raza were at jousting with one another to get the case to their credit. Some of the workers of the PPP women’s wing from Lyari were found saying that both wanted to use the case to gain important portfolios in the new setup in Sindh. The PPP workers said that this was tantamount to making fun of an innocent girl.
During the entire proceeding, which was delayed to begin with, PPP leaders and workers remained present.
Raza, however, maintained that she would take the victim to safe custody, as she had allegedly been threatened by the NGO; even her father, she said, was threatened with dire consequences. At the time, Ghulam Qadir, husband of Shehla Raza, and Khalida, of WAR, had a heated argument over the custody of Razia.
When Raza was successful in getting the custody of the victim, she made a victory sign and said that Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had always struggled for justice to the innocent. With this aim in mind, Raza said, she had taken the case into her hands so that the victim would not go into ‘unsafe hands’.
It must be mentioned here that Benazir had, in the past, always asked PPP workers not to publicise a rape victim.
An unusual rush was witnessed in the court of Judicial Magistrate (JM) East on Saturday, when the accused Khadim Hussain and victim Razia Kubra of the Mazar-e-Quaid rape case were produced before the court. A number of PPP women MPAs along with party workers were calling for the accused to be hanged to death while shouting slogans of ‘Jeay Bhutto.’
Shehla Raza, a newly-elected MPA from the PPP women’s quota, said that, on receiving information of the incident, she immediately rushed to the Imambargah to get custody of the victim, who was allegedly gang raped by some five to six persons. At this stage, she also said that one of the NGOs, War Against Rape (WAR), tried to grab the victim to gain some ulterior motives, she claimed.
However, when The News approached WAR, they outrightly rejected the allegations, and instead said that the PPP wanted to politicise the case and had rather attacked one Khalida, a member of WAR.
The blame game was continued even in the court’s vicinity, when the victim was produced before the court. The ‘power’ on behalf of the victim was presented by three different organisations - WAR, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and the PPP’s women’s wing, headed by Shehla Raza.
Moreover, even Shama Mithani, also a PPP MPA and Shehla Raza were at jousting with one another to get the case to their credit. Some of the workers of the PPP women’s wing from Lyari were found saying that both wanted to use the case to gain important portfolios in the new setup in Sindh. The PPP workers said that this was tantamount to making fun of an innocent girl.
During the entire proceeding, which was delayed to begin with, PPP leaders and workers remained present.
Raza, however, maintained that she would take the victim to safe custody, as she had allegedly been threatened by the NGO; even her father, she said, was threatened with dire consequences. At the time, Ghulam Qadir, husband of Shehla Raza, and Khalida, of WAR, had a heated argument over the custody of Razia.
When Raza was successful in getting the custody of the victim, she made a victory sign and said that Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had always struggled for justice to the innocent. With this aim in mind, Raza said, she had taken the case into her hands so that the victim would not go into ‘unsafe hands’.
It must be mentioned here that Benazir had, in the past, always asked PPP workers not to publicise a rape victim.
