Kainat Soomro: Lost her brother pursuing gang rapists- by Rabia Ali
Source: The News, 26 June 2010
The family of the gang-rape victim Kainat Soomro had to suffer another loss on Saturday as they found the body of Kainat’s elder brother, who had been pursuing his sister’s case in courts, from a remote area in Balochistan — almost three months after he was allegedly picked up by police from Dadu.
The family told The News that the body of the deceased would reach Karachi early Sunday morning. Sabir Soomro, 24 , was kidnapped from the village of Mehar in Dadu district in March. The young man had gone home to sell the family house in order to pay the expenses for fighting Kainat’s case in the court. Kainat holds police officials and the four acquitted men of her case responsible for her brother’s death. “The culprits along with the police killed my brother. Despite informing the government about the death threats, which I and my family were receiving, the authorities did not provide us any kind of support or protection. Instead, they chose to malign us and called us liars,” she told The News.
Kainat was only 13 years of age when she was gang- raped by four men in Dadu in 2007. Following the incident, the family came to Karachi and has been living here since then. But justice is something that Kainat has been waiting for long. She has now filed an appeal against the court decision’s which acquitted all the four accused in the rape case.
Abdul Hai of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said that the civil society was supporting the victim but, unfortunately, police officials did not take the matter up and neglected the cases. He added that the accused party, by using their influence, lodged false cases against Kainat’s brother, forcing him to go through the ordeal of serving a sentence in the prison. He urged the government to pay attention towards this issue and provide justice to Kainat and catch the murderers of her brother. However, the murder of elder brother has not dampened Kainat’s resolve to seek justice. “The Jirga back home wanted me to take back the case, forgive the culprits and accept money as compensation. They warned me and my family of dire consequences if I did not obey their commands. But I declined them. Today, my brother is no more alive, but I will continue to fight for my right. I will do it even if my body is riddled with hundreds of bullets,” a determined Kainat said between tears.
Mourning the loss of her child, the wails of Kainat’s mother echoed in the background. “My mother is in trauma. What was our fault? Whom do we go to? What should we do,” the 16-year-old girl questioned. Sabir had also gone through a lot in supporting his sister. Ghulam Nabi Soomro, the father, told The News that Sabir’s in-laws had turned against them and filed a false case against Sabir of murdering his wife. “My son served a nine-month sentence when a false case was registered against him for murdering his wife. It was a baseless accusation as his wife is very much alive. They all are murderers of my innocent son. I am shattered.”
Meanwhile, the family has decided to protest against the killing at the Karachi Press Club. “We will go to the Supreme Court; we will go to the court. We will go to the President House and the prime minister. I will fight for my brother’s loss and for my own right. I will seek revenge. No one can stop us,” said the distressed yet steadfast Kainat.
Rape culprits free despite Senate chairman’s orders
By Zar Nageen
KARACHI: Thirteen-year-old Kainat Soomro, hailing from Meharh, district Dadu, was allegedly gang-raped a month ago by four men of the Jatoi tribe, and despite directives of Senate Chairman Mohammadmian Soomro, the DPO operations, Dadu, still has not arrested the culprits.
Kainat, her family and other relatives launched a protest in Larkana, moved to Karachi where they hoped their voice would be heard.
Kainat is a student of class eight at the Government Girls High School, Meharh. “On January 10, I was returning from school as usual, when I stopped at Shaban Sheikh’s shop to buy bangles for my newborn niece,” she said. She asked the sales clerks for the item, when reportedly Shaban Sheikh caught her from behind and rendered her unconscious by putting a handkerchief on her mouth. “When I regained consciousness,” she said, “I was naked in a room inside the shop, and Shaban Khan and the two salesmen tried to assault me again upon seeing me conscious.”
According to Kainat, she was raped and beaten by Ehsan Thebo (Nomi), Roshan Thebo, Kareemullah Thebo and Shaban Shaikh. “I begged for them to let me go, but they put me in a car and took me to a quarter allotted to Kaleem in the TB hospital, where a woman kept torturing me,” she alleged.
The men allegedly raped her for three consecutive days, and when they finally left her on the third day, she escaped. “I had no money at all, so I begged a rickshaw driver to take me to Meharh, who, after looking at my condition, helped me and took me to the bus station,” Kainat said.
She said that her father Ghulam Nabi Soomro was the president of the Meharh Bus Drivers’ Union, and upon catching the bus to her hometown, she told the driver about her father. “Because of that, they not only allowed me to travel in the bus, but the bus cleaner made sure that I got home safely,” she said, adding that she got home around 3 am. She said that her clothes were totally torn and the bus driver covered her in his shawl before taking her to her house.
“My parents lodged an FIR against the four for kidnapping and rape, but the Meharh police station refused to write it and told us to first get a medical check-up done without giving us any sort of a letter,” Kainat said. The family went to court from where they obtained a letter and her medical examination was done, the reports of which were positive for rape. “If Mukhataran Mai can get justice, why can’t I? I am 13 but I feel like I have already turned 33 because of this incident. Why are my rapists not being arrested, am I not a daughter of Sindh?” she questioned. She said that she would make all possible efforts to seek justice, because living in Meharh had become extremely difficult for her and the people of her town not only defamed her but also gossiped about her elder sisters. “People tell me that I should die because I have been raped, and now I agree with them,” she said, weeping.
Her parents, Ghulam Nabi and Zakia, said that they had never even imagined that a calamity like this would befall their family. Talking to Daily Times, they said that when Kainat did not return home till 3 pm on January 10, they went out in search of her, first to her school and then to the homes of all her friends but in vain.
“One of her friends told us that she had gone to Shaban Khan’s shop to get bangles for her niece,” her father said. However, when they got to the market, the people feigned ignorance and Shaban Khan’s shop was closed. Unable to find their daughter, the bewildered parents went to the police station and reported that their daughter had been kidnapped. The police, however, declined to lodge an FIR for kidnapping and told the parents that the girl could just have gone missing rather than being kidnapped. “I told them that our daughter was old enough not to go missing and that she was kidnapped but they just wouldn’t listen to me,” said Ghulam Nabi. He said that when Kainat was brought home on the eve of January 13, she was running a high fever and was in extremely dishevelled condition. The parents took her to Civil Hospital, Meharh upon receiving a medical letter from the court, but due to the non-availability of a female doctor in the hospital, they had to go to 20 kilometres to Khairpur Nathan Shah Hospital. At the hospital, Dr Sumera Thebani was exceedingly reluctant to do the check-up. “Even after the medical certificate showed rape, the police station refused to lodge a report,” Kainat’s father said, “but after much pressure, they lodged it. The DSP told us that though a report would be lodged, the police would not be able to touch the culprits as they had strong support.”
Her father claimed that had the police wanted, it could have arrested the culprits in due time, but now, not much could be done as the culprits had allegedly obtained a protection order from the court at Dadu. He charged DPO Operations, Dadu, Nadir Khoso of supporting the criminals. “He has tried to harass us in every way possible and is asking me to hand Kainat over to him for a DNA check-up as he insists that she is 18 years of age and not 13,” he said.
Finding no other way, he phoned Senate chairman to seek help from him, who ordered the IGP Sindh to arrest the culprits immediately. “The IGP ordered the DPO, but he misguides them into thinking that I do not go to him despite his summons when in actuality, he refuses to see us leave every time we go to him for help,” Ghulam Nabi claimed. He told Daily Times that their life had become hell after this incident and they were faced with harassment everywhere and from everyone. The police allegedly threatened them, their tribesmen gossiped about them and Kainat’s two older sisters, both students, had stopped going to college out of fear and embarrassment.
“If I don’t get justice,” Nabi threatened, “I will commit suicide along with my family, in front of the Supreme Court.”
President of the Awami National Party Senator Asfandyar Wali also met Kainat and expressed deep sorrow over her plight. He assured all support to her in her pursuit for justice.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20072\13\story_13-2-2007_pg12_8
SHC calls for gang-rape case record and proceeding
KARACHI: The records and proceedings of the gang-rape cases of two minor girls, Kainat Soomro and Nasima Albano, were called for Monday by the Sindh High Court (SHC). The cases had been pending in the Session Court of Dadu and Mirpur Mathelo.
Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed was hearing the applications of Ghulam Nabi Soomro, father of Kainat, and Hamza Albano, father of Nasima, for the transfer of the cases from interior Sindh to Session Court, Karachi.
They submitted that their daughters and family members’ lives were being threatened by the respondents and it was very difficult for them to pursue the cases in Dadu and Mirpur Mathelo.
Kainat Soomro, 13, was gang-raped in early January in the village Mehar, Dadu by three people after she was drugged. Nasima, 16, was kidnapped from her home and later gang-raped in the village Mirpur Mathelo.
The applicant’s counsel, Zia Ahmed Awan, stated that influential perpetrators in both cases started threatening the victims and their family of dire consequences. Police were very uncooperative and tried to stop the victims from getting justice. He prayed to transfer both cases to Karachi as the police have also threatened them of dire consequences.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed adjourned the hearing for the transfer application of Mashooq Brohi’s murder case from Nawabshah to Karachi because of time issues.
The Lyari Task Force’s ex-chief, Chaudhry Aslam, claimed that Mashooq Brohi was killed in a police encounter on July 12, 2006 in the limits of the Gadap Town police station. However, the claim was rejected and a case was filed against him and other police officials that took part in the encounter. The case was registered in the Sakrand police station on the complaint of Lal Bibi, Rasool Bux Brohi’s wife. Rasool Bux Brohi is recognized as Mashooq Brohi.
The applicants’ counsels, M. Ilyas Khan and Muhammad Farooq, expressing their lack of trust in the trial court of Nawabshah, said that their clients lost all hope of an impartial trial before the Sessions Judge of Nawabshah. They prayed to transfer trial of the case to Sessions Judge Karachi Malir. ppi
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20077\24\story_24-7-2007_pg12_6
Kainat Soomro issue takes new turn
Monday, June 28, 2010
By Zeeshan Azmat
Karachi
In an attempt to prevent the bereaved family of Sabir Soomro from carrying his corpse to Governor House, police officials on Sunday manhandled the family members, forcing them to clear the area.
The family had arrived at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) along with the body of rape-victim Kainat Soomro’s brother, and after a brief press conference, decided to stage a sit-in outside Governor House. The deceased’s father, Nabi Soomro, told media personnel that the family was demanding police protection as well as money for the burial of the deceased in their ancestral village, Mehar, in District Dadu.
Nabi Soomro said that his 24-year-old son, Sabir, was kidnapped from their village on March 28, 2010. He had returned to Mehar to sell the family home, the father said, explaining that they needed the money to meet the expenses of legal proceedings for Kainat Soomro, his 16-year-old daughter, who had allegedly been gang-raped.
“Sabir was married to the daughter of his maternal uncle, Ali Hasan, but his uncle and his two sons nominated him in a case of murdering his wife. He was also imprisoned for nine months in the same case, and presented before the Larkana court, but we believe that the case was fake, as his wife is still alive,” Nabi Soomro said.
“We had staged a hunger strike in front of the KPC to register our protest against Sabir’s kidnapping. However, no official bothered to visit us, and give any hope,” Nabi Soomro told The News.
The deceased’s father claimed that Sindh Women Development Minister Tauqeer Fatima Bhutto and Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister on Information Jameel Soomro had visited their hunger strike camp outside the KPC to tell them that Sabir was not kidnapped or arrested, but he had gone underground to take advantage of the situation.
“Such a response was so disheartening that we decided not to turn to the provincial government for any help. This is also the reason why we want to stage a sit-in outside Governor House,” he explained.
A contingent of the Frere police, however, ensured that the family could not head to Governor House, and also beat up the family members of the deceased — all in the presence of the general public. The police also attempted on many occasions to shift the corpse elsewhere.
A few female policewomen, dressed in plain clothes, were also present, and they were called by the male cops to assist them while they shifted the body.
The family eventually had to stage a sit-in on the Abdullah Haroon Road, outside the State Life Building near Zainab Market.
While the fracas was in progress, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Marvi Memon reached the protest to condole with the family and pacify them. “This government is dysfunctional, and the episode of dishonouring a body and the heirs of a deceased is one such example,” Memon told media personnel.
“The government should show its writ, and the police should be stopped from disgracing the body and humiliating the deceased’s family,” she said, adding that the executive should play its due role in the matter, and then let the judiciary dispense justice.
Memon also called Interior Minister Rehman Malik on phone to inform him about the situation, but he did not attend any call at first.
After a little while, Malik called back, only to inform Memon that the matter was a provincial one, and not a federal issue. However, he assured her that a representative of the provincial government would soon meet Kainat Soomro’s family.
Subsequently, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Waseem Ahmed reached the scene, and assured the family of adequate security. He also issued orders for an inquiry to be conducted into Sabir’s disappearance from his native village.
The police department will also make arrangements to transport the body to Mehar for funeral proceedings, the CCPO said. Later on, the body was shifted in an ambulance for transfer to the village.
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=247633
Where are Ulema ,Moulana ,Jamatis or Taliban Supporters who have been protesting on Dr Afia’s case but remain silent on issue in the countries .
Only Dr afia is the victim .
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