Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Police have arrested eight out of nine absconders nominated in the Sharifa Bibi case— a female who was forced by a gang to go home naked after beating her in the vicinity of Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan), police said.

DI Khan RPO Fida Hussain told Daily Times on phone that the incident was the result of a three-year-old family feud, involving a marriage dispute between them, which took place in Chodhwan—an impoverished hamlet on the outskirts of DI Khan city.

“The reports of parading Sharifa naked are totally baseless and concocted. However, the men who are now behind the bars tore apart her clothes when they attacked her,” Hussain added.

Sharing details about the issue, a local landlord of Chodhwan village, who requested anonymity, said that the tragic development had taken place in Garra Matt, a village in Chodhwan area. He recalled some three years back Sajjad, the brother of Sharifa, was accused by the rival group headed by Sajjawal Seheer that the former had developed illicit relations with a female of the latter’s family. “However, the dispute was settled following arbitration by local elders in accordance with established norms and tradition,” he said.

“But the family of Seheer had anger in their hearts and wanted to take revenge from Sajjad’s family members. This led them to attack the latter’s sister Sharifa,” he said.

“Sharifa, along with other females of her town, was fetching water from a nearby pond when armed men ambushed her, dragged her, tore her clothes and paraded her nude.

“She was weeping, wailing and crying for help, but the men escorted her to her home while she was nude,” he said.

An elderly man who was sitting nearby had to throw his shawl to cover her, the landlord said.

Wishing anonymity because he isn’t authorised to speak to media, a police official at the Chodwan Police Station said that the incident had indeed taken place.

Nadeem Khan, a police official at the Chodhwan Police Station, said that police had registered a First Information Report (FIR).

He said a female complainant (Sharifa) had arrived at the police station, alleging the men of the rival group had torn her clothes. “The police registered cases under PPC 254-A, 342, 148 and 149 and subsequently, we detained eight persons while the ninth accused is still at large,” he recalled.

Published in Daily Times, October 31^st 2017.