LHC condemns honour killing
LAHORE: Justice Sardar Muhammad Aslam of the Lahore High Court on Thursday observed that “enlightened moderation” would be just a slogan until it changed the practice of killing women in the name of honour.
The court observed this while granting bail to an accused, Sabir Pehalwan, who had allegedly killed his sister and her lover in the name of honour.
The Sheikhupura Saddar police had registered a case against Sabir on the charge of killing his sister Bushra and cousin Muhammad Ashiq after he found them in compromising position.
According to the FIR lodged by Muhammad Gulzar, who was uncle of the accused, his son had illicit relations with his cousin Bushra. On the day of occurrence, the accused found them in objectionable position and stabbed them to death, he added.
The complainant’s counsel contended that a brother had no right or license to murder his sister in the name of honour, and if a brother could do this, then a sister had every right to do the same.
The deputy prosecutor general also pointed out that a bill had been moved in the National Assembly for legislation that sought honour killing to be considered a murder. The court observed that the legislation had not been made so far and the court had to decide the matter in the light of the existing law.
SHADMAN COLONY: The LHC on Thursday directed the Lahore Development Authority to submit original plan and property record of the Shadman Colony housing society (phase-II) and the Punjab Institute of Mental Health to provide its building plan.
Justice Sardar Muhammad Aslam issued these directions on a petition filed by Ehsan Javed and Advocate Sheikh Abdul Aziz, residents of Shadman Colony phase-II.
The court had already granted stay barring the respondents not to change the original nature of the scheme and also stopped the construction of the PIMH on the land registered by the colony.
The petitioners submitted that the Shadman housing society phase-II was framed by the Housing and Physical Planning Department with prior sanctions of the government, including provision for necessary facilities.
They said later the management of the scheme was transferred to the LDA. After getting necessary plan they got approved construction of their houses as, under the original scheme, they should have been provided 20-kanal park, the petitioners stated.
They said they were induced to pay extra charges for the park, but the LDA without any prior consultation or notice abandoned further development of the scheme and several plots reserved for the park were given to mental hospital that built a thick wall on the land.
In lieu of the land in question, they said, a required park about same size was shifted outside the boundary wall which was being maintained by the Parks and Horticulture Authority for 25 years. The original scheme was not materialised and the road facilities of huge park were not provided to the residents of the colony and the open space outside mental hospital was converted into a park for the children as an alternative.
The petitioners alleged that the LDA at the behest of some interested parties had proposed in 1994 to transfer the park to the parties which were registered by the residents of the Shadman Colony phase-II. They requested the LDA to declare the place Children Park.
The LDA, they alleged, was endeavoring to convert the park into residential and commercial multi-storey department at the behest of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology and communication & works department with mala fide intention to deprive the residents of the colony of the park
Source: Dawn
Date:3/9/2007
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