Husband threatens to commit suicide

ISLAMABAD: After failing to get justice from the police, government and even from the Supreme Court, a resident of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s constituency, whose wife was abducted by an alleged gang involved in women trafficking, sex slavery and fake marriages, finds no other option but to commit suicide on the Constitutional Avenue.

Despite provision of all the proofs, the police submitted the report before the apex court as well as trial court in favour of the gang and had declared that his wife was not kidnapped but went to Afghanistan with her own consent. As a result of the weak challan submitted by the police, all the members of the gang have been released despite the suo moto notice of Chief Justice of Pakistan.

On February 22, The News unearthed the biggest gang of women trafficking operating in Pakistan in the guise of matchmakers. This gang is freely working in the federal capital and Punjab where they allure common middle aged women in the name of matchmaking and smuggle them to Afghanistan where they sell them for Rs300,000 to Rs 500,000. Despite knowing the activities of such a gang, the police say that such cases of smuggling are out of their range and only Pakistan Army could take action and bring the women back.

This scribe has talked to CPO Rawalpindi many a time and he always replied the same that they were negotiating with the abductors and soon the abducted lady would be recovered. However, all the members of the gang arrested by police after Supreme Court took suo moto notice had been released but the women could not be recovered as of today.

Farzana, 40, mother of three kids and resident of Rawalpindi, according to an FIR, was kidnapped and taken to Swabi and then smuggled to Afghanistan where she was sold twice to different persons.

Chief Justice of Pakistan took suo moto notice on The News’ story on February 24, 2017 after which the Rawalpindi police arrested key members of the alleged gang within twenty hours. However, as claimed by one of the members of the gang while talking to The News that police would do nothing as it was fully aware of the activities of this gang.

The alleged gang member’s claim proved right when the police submitted its report before the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The Rawalpindi police in its report claimed that Farzana and her husband were part of the gang and they were involved in looting common citizens. The same report was presented as challan before the lower court on the basis of which the court released all the members of gang on bail as the police report was so weak.

Though Rawalpindi police have continuously repeated even before the Supreme Court that there is no such gang involved in women trafficking and fake marriages, but facts reveal otherwise. Contrary to the claims of Rawalpindi police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police have also received some complaints about missing women from Swabi, who were allegedly sold by the key member of this gang i.e. “Budhi” who is released on bail courtesy the weak challan submitted by Rawalpindi police.

Muhammad Arshed — Farzana’s husband while talking to The News said that he was the voter of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and had contacted him when he was federal minister. However, he is still waiting for his wife’s recovery as no one has helped him in this regard.

“My two daughters always ask when our mother will come and I reply them that the Supreme Court has taken notice of their mother’s abduction and soon she will return. However it has been almost seven months since the Supreme Court has taken suo-moto notice but Farzana could not be recovered. I have no more courage to give false hopes to my children now. It is easy to die for a poor than getting justice and now I have decided to commit suicide along with my daughters in front of Supreme Court of Pakistan”, Muhammad Arshed commented.

According to Arshed, he tried to approach apex court’s human rights cell for restarting the hearing into his wife’s case but he received no response yet. He tried to approach interior minister, Punjab chief minister, Prime Minister Secretariat and even Foreign Ministry to help him in recovering his wife from Afghanistan but no one has even paid attention to his appeals.

“All my hopes are now attached to Chief Justice of Pakistan to resume hearing into his case so that police should take action on the directives of the apex court. Otherwise, there will be no option but to commit suicide along with my children”, commented Muhammad Arshed.