Source: www.morningstarnews.org
Date: July 30, 2024
Police decline to arrest Muslim suspects, sources say.
By Christian Daily International-Morning Star News
Sonia Mehboob in Lahore, Pakistan. (Christian Daily International-Morning Star News)
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Police in Pakistan have refused to arrest two Muslims who raped a 15-year-old Christian girl, and the suspects have threatened to harm her family members if they do not withdraw the case, relatives and attorneys said.
Sonia Mehboob said her daughter was raped by Fahad Nasir and Muhammad Amjad on the night of July 1 in Lahore. Police reluctant to file a case delayed registering a First Information Report (FIR) for a day, she said.
“We made several visits to the police station, but each time we were treated harshly by the police,” Mehboob told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “When the police finally registered our FIR, no attempt was made to arrest the accused, enabling them to obtain interim bails from the court.”
Her daughter, whose name is withheld as an alleged rape victim, had left the house around 10 p.m. to go to a nearby grocery shop. As she returned, the two suspects stopped her on the street and forced her to drink some water laced with drugs, Mehboob said.
“She fell unconscious after drinking the drug-laced water, after which the accused took her to a house and raped her,” she said.
Mehboob, a Catholic domestic worker, said that when her daughter did not return, she and her husband set out to search for her.
“While we were looking for her, we saw Fahad standing in the street,” she said. “Upon asking him about our daughter, he said that he had seen her going towards a nearby park.”
They rushed to the park and, not finding her there, returned to their street.
“Fahad wasn’t there,” Mehboob said. “After some time, we saw Amjad coming out of a house followed by [my daughter], who was struggling to walk.”
Amjad ran away upon seeing them, she said, adding that her daughter was drugged and could barely talk.
“Her clothes were drenched in blood. We immediately called the police, who took her to the hospital for treatment and medical examination,” Mehboob said. “The medical examination showed that she has been raped. There were also torture and bite marks on her body.”
Some officers went to the crime scene and seized evidence. They also recovered illegal weapons from the house, she said.
Mehboob filed an application for registration of a case against Nasir and Amjad, but area police were reluctant to register the FIR that day, she said. She pleaded with the investigation officer several times to conduct DNA tests of the victim and the two suspects, but he refused, she said.
“The accused are now threatening us to withdraw the case, warning us of dire consequences,” Mehboob said.
On July 19 the suspects filed a false case of assault against her 16-year-old son Zikaria, accusing him of attacking Nasir even though the teenager can barely walk due to a leg injury, she said.
“They also involved Sadiq Masih, a Christian counsellor of the area, in the case because he’s helping us in our pursuit for justice,” Mehboob said.
Her daughter said that when she regained consciousness, she was confused to find herself in a room.
“My mind was numb and vision was blurry when I gained consciousness,” she told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “At first, I couldn’t figure out what had happened to me, but then I started to feel the pain. It was awful. There were some bite injuries on my body which also hurt a lot.”
There was no one else in the house when she regained consciousness, and after some time Amjad unlocked the main gate, she said.
“I tried to run, but he beat me up, biting me on the cheek when I was struggling to free myself,” she said. “I started screaming for help, after which he let go of me and left the house. I followed him outside, and while I was trying to make out where I was, my parents saw me and took me in their arms.”
She said the assault has left her with severe mental and physical trauma.
“I’m still unable to sleep at night. The bitter memory of that night continues to haunt me to this day,” she said as tears welled up her eyes.
Shahid Altaf, a local Muslim of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said he was supporting the Christian family “because it was the right thing to do.”
“Though I’m a Muslim, I’m seeking justice for her because she is the victim of a barbaric crime,” Altaf told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “The accused are notorious criminals and have a history of sexually assaulting minor children. They also act as informers for the police, which is why no action is being taken against them.”
With Altaf’s help, the family on Saturday (July 27) engaged Christian attorney Zunaira Yousaf to pursue the case. She said she would contest the bails of the suspects at court hearing scheduled for Tuesday (July 30).
“I’ve also filed an application with the senior superintendent of police investigation branch to change the investigating officer of the case,” Yousaf told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “The police are clearly siding with the accused; nearly a month has passed, yet the police have not conducted DNA tests of the accused and the victim. Due to this, the accused have thrice managed to get their pre-arrest bails extended from the court.”
The case shows how vulnerable Christians face challenges in obtaining justice in Pakistan, she said.
“In her police statement, [the victim] has identified Fahad as the person who intoxicated her,” Yousaf said. “Moreover, the house where she was raped is under Fahad’s rental. These facts warrant Fahad’s immediate arrest, but the investigation officer has deliberately not opposed his pre-arrest bail.”
Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.