Protests across City against Kasur tragedy

LAHORE: The lawyers observed Thursday as a black day to mourn the murder of a seven-year-old Zainab Ameen in Kasur and demanded resignation of Punjab Chief Minister and Provincial Law Minister Rana Sana-Ullah.

The black coats wore black armbands to record their protest against the incident and boycotted court proceedings. The Punjab Bar Council had announced a strike and demanded the government to arrest the culprits involved immediately. The Lahore Bar Association (LBA), in a meeting, termed it ‘a brutal incident’ and called the police ‘cruel’ for not registering FIR.

The bar leaders said the whole country was in grieve over Zainab’s murder. “It is very shameful that the body of an innocent girl was found from the debris,” LBA President Chaudhary Zulfiqar Ali said and added, “The leaders have lost morality to rule after the incident.”

He condemned the murder of two citizens during the protest saying that the same police killed citizens in Model Town. He said Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa took notice of the incident. The citizens had been left at the mercy of miscreants, he said.

Lahore Bar Finance Secretary Zaheer Butt said the rulers should step down if they could not provide justice to the victims of Kasur and Model Town incidents. Lahore Bar Association observed strike in the lower courts as well and no lawyer appeared before any court. They stayed at their chambers and held prayers for the deceased. They offered free legal assistance to the deceased’s family.

Moonis Elahi: Pakistan Muslim League-Q central leader Moonis Elahi has said rape and murder of seven-year-old Zainab in Kasur has stirred the nation’s soul. “A government that so miserably failed to protect innocent citizens has no moral grounds to remain in power. The government let go the shocking 2015 Kasur sex scandal culprits to oblige the criminals’ powerful political patrons.

The government has squandered billions of rupees in the Safe City scam and the result is an overall 85pc increase in crimes with a 36pc increase in child abuse and murder cases in Punjab,” Moonis Elahi alleged while talking to Kasur PML-Q MPA Sardar Waqas Hassan Mokal on telephone.

Moonis rang up the Kasur legislator to express his solidarity and PML-Q support to the people of Kasur. During the conversation, Moonis Elahi lashed out at the government for its failure in protecting the citizens' lives and condemned the role of ‘trigger-happy’ Punjab police in killing harmless protesters. He dubbed Kasur police shooting at the protesting crowd a sequel to the Model Town ‘massacre’. Accusing govt of helping the politically influential criminals accused in the 2015 Kasur child abuse scandal through a weak police investigation, Moonis Elahi put the entire responsibility of the Zainab’s rape and murder on them.