Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed severe dismay over poor performance by Punjab government and police in investigating brutal rape and murder of seven-year-old Zainab in Kasur despite lapse of several days.

A three-member Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ijazul Ahsan directed the joint investigation team (JIT) probing the incident and head of Punjab Forensic Science Agency to appear before the Lahore Registry of the court on Sunday.

Additional Inspector General of Police Punjab Abubakar Khuda Bakhsh apprised the court that Inspector General Police Arif Nawaz could not turn up due to his other engagements.

He informed the court that investigation into the murder case was underway, adding that eight cases similar to Zainab’s had been reported in Kasur during the last 18 months. He said the culprit in Zainab case was a serial killer. To a court query, he said he was unable to give a timeframe for the culprit’s arrest.

Appearing on notice, Advocate General Punjab told the court that the investigation covering several aspects was underway and around 1,100 suspects had so far been interrogated, whereas DNA samples of 400 suspects had also been sent to the laboratory.

The chief justice maintained that the entire nation was aggrieved over the brutal incident, however no progress had so far been made by the Punjab government and its police which was a question mark on their performance.

He said if the issue stands unresolved, it would be a failure of the Punjab government and its police, adding that the culprit should be arrested instead of being killed in a police encounter.

The CJP said same kind of delays and mistakes are found in investigation of every case which helps the suspects get bails and ultimately exonerated.

He said a visible gap between the police and judiciary should be bridged so that mistakes made by police in such cases can be avoided. He said police must take guidance from the court’s decisions.

He said the new CCTV video showing Zainab being led away by a suspicious person could be worked out further.

He questioned the utility of safe city project cameras on which millions of rupees had been spent. “If any sort of sensitivity is found in the case, you can brief us in our chambers,” the chief justice asked the AIG.

During the hearing, the chief justice stressed that three should be dialogue and exchanges between the institutions. He said if parliamentary leaders had any proposal or suggestions for reforms, they should inform the court. He regretted lack of legislation by parliament over child abuse.

He said parliament, being the supreme institution, should take steps on the issue of child abuse. He asked Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Aitzaz Ahsan to raise the issue in the parliament. He said he had also requested Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani in this regard. “We have to end situation of strangeness between parliament and judiciary. I am ready to meet parliamentarians on the issue of reforms, which was foremost need of today,” he said.

The chief justice restrained the Lahore High Court from proceeding further in the Zainab case holding that high courts did not have suo motu jurisdiction.

Published in Daily Times, January 17^th 2018.