Lack of security at F-9 Park adds to women’s woes

Islamabad : The unique family park of the country has lost its charm on security grounds due to the incompetency of the people responsible for providing protection to the public, especially, women who feel uncomfortable, during their evening or morning walks.

The families try to go to the walking tracks, particularly in Fatima Jinnah Park (popularly known as F-9 Park) but the people responsible for the decision-making, have turned a blind eye to providing security to the visitors, particularly in one of the most popular parks of Asia,.

The recent incident of harassing a woman who come to the park for an evening walk jolted the Islooiites after a feared incident of gang rape of a girl at gunpoint in the premises of the F-9 Park by two gunmen in February 2023, the continuation of incidents of abuse and harassment of women in F-9 Park is increasing day by day.

The latest episodes of sexual harassment with women, particularly walking alone on busy tracks have become a matter of routine. The incidents rivaled on social media when the victim woman uploaded a video of a man doing lewd acts in front of a woman in F-9 Park appeared without exposing her identity. But the police, even after two days, could not trace out the accused as they had done in the incident of gang rape with the girl at gunpoint and both were gunned down, reportedly during an encounter with the gangsters.

Subsequently, the families who come for sightseeing in F-9 Park are feeling insecure due to the successive incidents of abuse and harassment.

While, in an episode of gang rape at gunpoint in Islamabad’s F-9 Park, which occurred in the second week of February, the police hunted down both the rapists and killed them in an encounter, recuperated the confidence of the public and enhanced the sense of security which was badly damaged after the shivering incident of gang rape. A police team commanded by SSP, tracked down the gangsters involved in the gang rape case located in Golra.

When the police gunned down both the gangsters, reportedly involved in the gang rape in the F-9 Park incident at a police picket near Sector D-12 after an exchange of gunfire, the human rights activists, who were ‘crying for the woman, gang raped by two gangsters, demanding for their immediate arrest, came out in favour of the rapists with the demands to take legal action against the police personnel involved in the killing of the rapists. While, according to a police statement, the two men, allegedly involved in the F-9 park gang-rape incident, were shot dead at a police picket near Sector D-12 after an exchange of gunfire when both opened fire at the police party when intercepted.

Human rights activist, Imaan Mazari said, “The rape suspects were habitual criminals. Police arrested and shot them dead under mysterious circumstances” asking, “Why were they killed extra-judicially?”

After the alleged rapists were killed in police encounter, such NGOs working on international funding, started protesting the killing of the rapist.

From the perspective of the entire situation, the Police did not make adequate security arrangements in the park after the incidents of rape in F-9, which made F-9 Park a haven for criminals. While, the administration announced after the rape incident that CCTV Cameras would be installed at every sensitive and hidden point of the Park, which could not be found in any point of the Park.