‘Let Pakistan know what happened to me’
By Rauf Klasra
FAISALABAD, August 30 2005: “Let Pakistan know what happened to me,” she said, overcome with grief but determined to fight for justice.
Will there be no end to harassment and the horror of rape, torture and humiliation of women — mostly, at the hands of those who are supposed to be the guardians of law — in this country?
You wonder: So does a 23-year-old mother of two kids, Sonia Naz, who, if most of us have not already forgotten her, is the unfortunate woman arrested from the National Assembly in April this year for mistakenly wandering into the august House — in the naïve assumption that she could seek help from it for her missing husband.
She was subsequently, jailed for the “infringement” — on the orders of Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain.
It has now emerged, after in-depth investigations by The News that Sonia’s long line of tragedies, according to her, had only begun when she was arrested from parliament.
She alleges she was later kidnapped for 15 days and raped by Jaranwala SHO Jamshed Chishti — on the orders of SP Investigation Khalid Abdullah — soon after her release from Adiala jail.
“I belong to a Syed family. It would have been better for me if I had not been bailed out by an Islamabad court judge on charges of entering the Parliament as, at least, my honour would probably have been intact within the four walls of Adalia jail,” she said in a detailed interview.
“I had no idea that an SP level officer could be so cold-hearted and criminal,” Sonia said before breaking into sobs.
“I have solid evidence to establish my claim that I was raped by SHO Jamshed Chishti in the presence of SP Abdullah. I will give all evidence before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, if asked. But, now I and my kids live in mortal danger after my decision to break the silence,” a terrified Sonia said.
Sonia has given a written affidavit to The News in which she has directly accused SP Abdullah Khalid – known in Faisalabad by the moniker “Saddam Hussain” because of his resemblance to the former Iraqi dictator – of kidnapping and raping her.
“SP Abdullah had a striking resemblance with my late father. When I first met him in a bid to get my husband released, I thought I was meeting my deceased father – in police uniform. But, I had no idea the monster resembling my father would actually get me raped.
“After I was raped and driven out of my missing husband’s house, I wanted to kill myself. But, the cries of my two small kids stopped me (from doing so) as they have already lost their father,” Sonia said, herself crying.
To hush up the crime, Sonia reveals, the Faisalababad police have already registered several criminal cases against herself, her mother, brother and father-in-law Malik Yousaf.
To rub salt into her wounds, her family has been accused of hiding her husband, Asim Yousaf.
After failing to get any relief from the Lahore High Court, where they had filed petitions, they have all left their homes in Faisalabad and Lahore – to save themselves further torture and humiliation at the hands of the Faisalabad police.
Entrapment: Earlier, Sonia’s husband, Asim Yousaf, a junior clerk in Local Excise Office, along with 17 officials, was arrested on charges of preparing fake registrations for stolen cars from Karachi and other parts of the country.
But, instead of following the accepted legal procedure against Asim and the others, the Faisalabad Police confined them in illegal custody on the pretext of investigation. The Excise Department also conducted its own inquiry. But, without waiting for the outcome of the departmental inquiry, SP Abdullah began a crackdown.
This forced the families of these detainees to negotiate the release of their kinfolks with police high-ups and the Investigation Department of Police allegedly took Rs15million from them in bribe.
Those who failed to give money were allegedly booked in cases and some of them have now managed to get bail after remaining six months in jail.
In desperation to save her husband torture in police custody, Sonia says, she gave a hefty sum to the SHO.
In a sudden twist, Asim managed to abscond. But, the police picked up two young brothers-in-law of his married sister as a bargaining chip to have Asim surrender.
Asim’s sister was asked to put pressure on her brother to give himself up or get divorced.
Caught in a dilemma, the family secured the services of some middlemen, who assured them they would strike a deal with SP Abdullah.
As a consequence, Asim surrendered himself before the police. Sonia, who was pregnant then, used to visit the police station daily to give her husband meals.
Asim’s family alleges that he was kept in police custody for many months without proper case and despite paying Rs1.4million to SP Abdullah for his release.
Asim’s family says, it sold two shops in Faisalabad to pay the sum to SP Abdullah for his release but the deal could not be finalised as the SP allegedly demanded an additional Rs5million.
“When they could not fulfil the new demand, the SP did not free Asim,” Sonia said.
In the meanwhile, they alleged, the police started propagating that Asim was never arrested and he was absconding in the case. This created panic in Asim’s household, forcing Sonia to unwittingly rush to Islamabad where she surprisingly breached the security to enter the Parliament – to seek justice.
The family suspects Asim might have been killed by the police during torture in custody.
After getting bail from an Islamabad court, Sonia went missing. This followed media interviews in which Sonia spoke out against the Faisalabad police, exerting pressure on the Punjab government to take action against the powerful SP Abdullah.
“Had parliamentarians and Punjab government given me justice, I might have been saved the worst humiliation possible,” Sonia wailed.
When this correspondent went to the house of Sonia in Faisalabad located in Duglaspura opposite to Jhang Road Police Station, her neighbours confirmed the entire family had fled the city after police started raiding their homes.
“Rapist” cop’s version When The News contacted SP Investigation Faisalabad Abdullah Khalid, who was recently promoted from rank of DSP to get his point of view, he appeared indifferent.
On the other hand, SP Abdullah started using derogatory language when he heard Sonia’s name. He passed many insulting comments on her character. But, when this correspondent pressed the SP to respond to the serious charges made against him, he outrightly rejected Sonia’s allegations.
“Look, Sonia only wants to become the Mukhtaran Mai of Faisalabad. I had also told the Lahore High Court judge that she would become (Mukhtarian Mai) to malign me,” SP Abdullah shrugged off, sarcastically.
The SP claimed Sonia had changed 60 SIMs of different mobile phones to avoid arrest. But, he vowed that he would trace her and the rest of her family members soon as “I have widened my network all over Pakistan”.
“Last time, she was reported to be hiding in Landhi, Karachi. Although, Landhi is a big area but do not worry, I am after her,” Khalid Abdullah said, adding “she is a liar and I did not do anything to her”, SP Abdullah said.
But, when this correspondent contacted IG Police Punjab Major (retd) Ziaul Hassan to get his views on the alleged rape by the cops, he refused to take telephone calls.
Moment of reckoning: Sonia vacillated for almost a fortnight before allowing this correspondent to publish her ordeal. She was reluctant to tell her tale of alleged abduction, torture and rape by the custodians of law, fearing the disclosure may ruin the future of her two children, who will continue to carry a social stigma earned by their mother for the rest of their lives.
“I don’t care how anyone will think about me after the report of my rape is published as I have already been driven out of home. My only worry is what will happen my kids in its wake,” she said.
“Everybody would taunt my daughter and son for being the children of a woman who was raped. It would be difficult for my six month-old daughter to survive when she reaches the age of marriage,” Sonia said, explaining her initial reluctance.
“The father of my children is missing for the last one year. Now, their mother has been raped. I did not want to ruin their future by disclosing what was done to me. But, now I have decided to fight against the injustice done to me by SP Abdullah.
“Let the people of Pakistan know what has happened to an educated woman, who tried to secure the release of the father of her children by using legal means,” she said overcome with grief.
In a moment of reflection, Sonia said she may have tolerated all the pain and injuries to her soul but being treated like an untouchable by her in-laws and other relatives was something she would not be able to reconcile with for the rest of her life.
Father-in-law speaks: When The News contacted Sonia’s father-in-law Malik Yousaf, he said: “Yes, I have driven out my daughter-in-law and her two children from my house because if she stays with us, no-one will marry my two young daughters. I have already lost my son to the police. Now, I cannot see my young daughters dying unmarried.”
However, Malik Yousaf was in tears talking to this correspondent.
“SP Abdullah has ruined me and all members of my family. I am helpless. You tell me what should I do? Should I not look to the future of my two young daughters or (should I) allow Sonia to live in my house? Tell me what to do?” he said.
“I am 68 and handicapped. I am travelling on trains to different cities all the time as the SP has made it difficult for me to live in Faisalabad. I was a threadmill owner, enjoying family life. But, today, I have been made to beg on railway stations to survive as our factory, too, has been overtaken by those who have the backing of the SP,” Yousaf revealed.
When asked what he thought was Sonia’s fault and why was she kicked out of the house, Yousaf replied: “I had told this girl not to challenge the might of SP Abdullah. We even gave Rs1.4million to the SP. But, DIG Faisalabad also wanted Rs1 million to release my son. I was left with nothing to pay to the police after selling my shops to secure the release of my only son,” Yousaf said.
“This stupid girl (Sonia) wanted to move courts, media and the National Assembly to seek justice against Abdullah. She used to make tall claims that she would fight against the injustice of the SP. Now, she has been given justice by police,” Yousaf said, sarcastically, before breaking down again.
“I am sleeping at different railway stations with my young daughters and wife to avoid arrest at the hands of the Faisalabad police, who have made our lives difficult,” he wailed.
When asked why SP Abdullah wanted to arrest him and his family, he replied: “The SP and his men want to book us on the charges of hiding our son, who was actually in the custody of police. We had handed over Asim to the police.”
He recalled: “Hundreds of people used to meet Asim in the police station. Now, the SP says he never arrested Asim! If he did not arrest Asim, then where has he gone from the police custody?
“The police have killed my son and now they want us to give statements in their favour so that they are not booked on charges of killing my son,” Yousaf explained.
Sonia’s lawyer recalls: Sonia’s lawyer, MD Tahir, who had represented Sonia and Malik Yousaf in court, confirmed the abduction of Sonia by Faisalabad police in May.
He said he had immediately brought the issue before the Lahore High Court but contends it was not taken seriously. Tahir said the entire family was afraid of appearing before court as they had developed serious fears that Faisalabad police would not spare them this time “as they have no regard for courts”.
The legal counsel said the writ petitions of Sonia and her father-in-law, seeking justice against SP Abdullah were subsequently, dismissed by the LHC after they could not appear before the court.
Continuing with her ordeal, Sonia said after facing disappointment at the hands of all institutions of state like the Parliament, Lahore High Court and the media, she tried to arrange some money from relatives for the survival of her two kids.
She recalled that the Faisalabad police was under pressure from the media on which account she was being hounded from all sides. She lamented that instead of getting justice, when she was sent to jail on the orders of the NA speaker, the decision emboldened SP Abdullah, who thought he could do anything to her as no-one was ready to listen to her.
The horror begins: Recounting the day of the horror, Sonia said: “One day, when I was going to my tailor, I was picked up from Lahore by some people at gunpoint, who handcuffed and blindfolded me. After shoving me in a car and driving it for four hours, I was taken to a village house and warned if I ever tried to raise a voice, I would be simply gunned down”.
The thoughts of her kids whom she had left behind at her in-laws’ house, forced her to cooperate with her abductors – who were ten in all. She was so terrified she could neither eat nor sleep at night, fearing that someone might come and do something to her.
The abductors, she recalled, continued to tell her that she should not think of taking on SP Abdullah in the media as she did in the past by approaching the parliament and meeting media persons.
“Finally, a night before my release, SP Abdullah personally came there with SHO Jamshed Chishti. The SP told me I had been maligning him all over Pakistan by first approaching the parliament and then giving interviews in the media and now he would teach me a lesson I would remember for rest of her life”.
The SP, she said, chided her for doing this as he mocked that he had already released her husband.
“Then, turning furious, the SP directed the SHO to undress me and he started raping me. When I tried to resist, both of them thrashed me, causing many injuries to my face.
“After I was raped, SP Abdullah stepped forward and urinated in my mouth, challenging me to go and do whatever I could,” said Sonia, sobbing bitterly.
The same morning Sonia was again put in a car and dropped near her house. She was warned to stay silent lest the worst followed.
The blind spot: When Sonia returned home after 15 days and her in-laws saw her physical condition because of severe torture and rape, they inquired where she had been the last fortnight.
When she narrated her ordeal, her mother-in-law unleashed a storm in house and handed Sonia’s kids to her, asking the traumatized woman to immediately leave the house. They held Sonia responsible for the tragedy that had befallen their house.
Sonia tried to reason with them that her condition did not allow her to move because of the torture and rape and implored if, she could first be taken to a doctor for a medical examination.
But, they all refused to listen and, instead, snubbed her for again wanting to file a case against SP Abdullah. She tried in vain to argue that she had been trying to rescue their only son and whatever she did, was in the greater interests of the family.
After being driven out, she went to seek the help of her two married sisters but they, too, expressed their inability to do so as the father-in-law of one of the sisters was an SHO. He said he could not “afford the enmity of SP Abdullah”.
However, one of her sisters gave her money to survive.
Shock at home: After disappointment at the hands of her in-laws and sisters, she went to her parents’ house. But, another shock was awaiting her.
She learnt that they, too, had left their home in the days of her disappearance as the police had also raided the place where her mother was slapped by the police.
Sonia then attempted to find refuge in her distance relatives. But all of them refused to even take her telephone calls as her case had become public after her arrest from parliament.
Left with no option, she finally, went to the house of certain relatives, who were distant and comparatively, illiterate. They still have no clue on stories published about her.
“I don’t know how they would react once the story of my rape and abduction reaches them”, an apprehensive Sonia said.
“But, I am ready to take the risk because I have lost my husband, my family life and above all my honour. What else is left to protect, now?” Sonia said in mournful reflection.
In a poignant last note, Sonia wondered aloud if she would ever get justice.
“If all the Parliament could do was to send me to jail, what should I expect from rulers, now that I lie shorn of dignity and groveling like an untouchable”.
Her voice choked with emotion, just trailed off.
Source: The News
Date:8/30/2005
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