Murdered girl’s parents being pressurised
PESHAWAR – The family of a four-year-old girl, raped and killed a month ago, is under pressure from a local jirga to enter into a compromise with the family of accused. Parents of the victim have requested the provincial government and provincial police officers to refer the case to an anti- terrorism court so that the accused could be awarded an exemplary punishment at the earliest.
The victim’s family, belonging to Dildar Garhi Charsadda district, has been residing at Khushmakam (Nowshera district), a village adjacent to Peshawar. The body of the girl with her hands tied behind was found in a canal about a kilometre away from the village on April 7.
The accused Asad Khan, who is about 22, has confessed to have taken away gold earrings and killed the child. He is presently behind the bars, while challan (charge sheet) against him will yet to be submitted to the concerned court. After the occurrence his family had left Khushmakam and now living in Musazai Peshawar district.
Ali Akber, father of the victim, told Dawn that some elected councillors from Musazai have formed a jirga and they have been pressurizing them to pardon the boy. He added that they were even offered ‘swara’ for settling the dispute, but they declined to accept their offer.
“Blood money or swara will not bring back my child. Looking at the brutal manner in which my daughter was killed my only desire is that the killer should be hanged so that nobody could act in such a way in future, ” said mother of the victim.
While tears rolling down her face, she said that on the unfortunate day the little girl was wearing a red dress and her innocent face was giving look of a rose. Ali Akber, who is a daily wage labourer, was allegedly asked for money on different pretext by the concerned officials of Akbarpura police station.
The victim’s family had approached the Voice of Prisoners with the request to help them in convicting the accused. The chairman of the cell, advocate Noor Alam Khan, said that the case should be tried by an anti-terrorism court as the incident had created terror in the locality and parents have stopped their children from getting out of their houses.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/10/2004
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