Daily Times

The 12 horrendous rape-cum-murders of girls in Kasur alone in one year, brutal extra-judicial killings, ineffectiveness of criminal justice system and lack of political will to deal with these have once again elicited anger of the civil society. The way in which arrest of 24-year alleged serial killer Imran Ali (accused of raping and killing 7 girls) after 15 days investigation and claimed DNA matching, was eulogised by the Punjab chief minister in a press conference was slammed by many, including the opposition leader in National Assembly. The main reason for widespread criticism was applauding the Punjab police and physically barring the father of the seven-year-old victim from speaking.

Unfortunately, the issue is not being handled with the seriousness it deserves. Even media is sensationalising and scandalising the events. From emotional outbursts to political point-scorning, from media shenanigans to apathy of legislators, from inefficiency of police to failure of criminal justice system, these gruesome incidents hold a mirror to show how callously we deal with rights concerning children, women and minorities — in fact of all weaker segments of society. Society complains about lack of effective laws but the problem is corrupt and inefficient police apparatus having political backing that abuse laws rather than enforcing them. It is evident from the fact that Kasur Police in 2017 killed in an alleged fake encounter 21-year-old Mudassir who was arrested for rape and murder of five-year-old Iman Fatima. Now they say Imran Ali is responsible for her rape and murder and also of six other girls. The question is why they did not conduct DNA test at the time of arresting Mudassir and who is responsible for his extra-judicial killing.

In August 2015, Lahore High Court, while banning the sale of videos of victims of the Kasur child sex abuse, ordered the police to ensure proper trial but it has failed to do so till date. In June 2017, news reports exposed 10 rape-cum-murders within six months in Kasur — all the victims were aged 5 to 10. Why did Punjab police fail to trace the offender(s)? No explanation is offered till today by the chief minister. On January 10, three people were killed and six others were injured by police firing during furious protests against the gruesome rape and murder of Zainab and Chief Justice of Pakistan took suo moto notice. This was not an isolated incident or confined to Punjab alone. Around the same time, body of four-year-old Asma was found near Mardan. She was raped before being strangled to death.

Cases of child sex abuse (CSA), reported and non-reported, show that Pakistan has not only a very high incidence, but also lacks political will to counter the same. According to Sahil, a non-governmental organisation working on CSA, in the first half of 2017, more than 1750 cases of child abuse were reported across Pakistan. Sahil has been publishing ‘Cruel Number’ reports for the last 17 years, which is based on data collected through monitoring online and printed newspapers, direct cases received by it for free legal aid, and cases are also shared by other organisations.

According to Sahil, the total number of CSA cases including abduction, missing children and child marriage in 2016, was at staggering 4139 — 11 abuses per day. This figure showed an increase of 10 per cent from the previous year. The main categories were: abduction 1455, rape 502, sodomy 453, gang rape 271, gang sodomy 268 and 362 of attempted abuse. 100 victims were murdered after sexual assaults. ‘Cruel Numbers’ data reveals that 2410 girls and 1729 boys were victims of sexual exploitation. A total 6759 abusers were involved in 2810 cases. The largest groups identified were 1765 acquaintances, 798 strangers, acquaintance with stranger in 589 cases. The highest percentage of vulnerable age group among both girls and boys was 11 to 15 years and the second vulnerable age group was 6 to 10 years.

The data of Sahil shows sexual abuse is rampant across the country Statistics show 34 per cent of cases of sexual assault took place within enclosed areas whereas 16 per cent cases took place in open spaces. Province — wise data shows that 2676 cases of abuse were reported from Punjab, followed by 987 cases from Sindh, 166 from Balochistan, 156 from Islamabad, 141 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 9 from Azad Jammu Kashmir and 4 cases were from Gilgit Baltistan. 76 percent  cases were reported from rural areas whereas 24 percent of cases were from the urban areas. Of all the cases, 78 percent were registered with the police, 32 cases were unregistered, whereas police refused to register an FIR for 142 cases.

The police department is highly politicised and lacks qualified staff and discipline. In courts, thousands of cases are pending. The courts not only are overworked but also function in outdated fashion

The above facts sadly reflect on the entire society. These confirm that our institutions — social, official and legal — need reforms. What are the problems in society, policing and criminal justice system and how can these be fixed have been highlighted in a number of studies. Some notable are: ‘Need for judicial reforms’ (Ikram, 2017), ‘Structural Organisation of Police’ (Asima Noureen and Zaigham Sarfraz, 2016), ‘Police system of Pakistan’ (Shoaib Suddle, PILDAT, 2015), ‘Hope for a just Pakistan’ (Huzaima and Ikram, 2014), ‘Modernising justice delivery system’ (Huzaima and Ikram, 2012), ‘Reforming Pakistan‘s Police and Law Enforcement Infrastructure: Is It Too Flawed to Fix?’ (Hassan Abbas, 2011), ‘Approaches to Legal and Judicial Reform in Pakistan: Post Colonial Inertia and the Paucity of Imagination in Times of Turmoil and Change’ (Osama Siddique, LUMS, 2011), ‘Police organisations in Pakistan’ (Asad Jamal, HRCP, 2010) and ‘Reforming Pakistan’s Criminal Justice System’ (Crisis Group, December 2010).

As evident from above, there is no dearth of studies and solutions. The question is who will undertake reforms? The beneficiaries of the existing system are politicians, who control masses through thana, kutchery and patwar, will obviously resist any positive change. Even those not in power but secure ‘benefits’ through influence or money power, would never be interested in reforming police system and criminal justice system. The people involved in organised crimes in Pakistan can buy politicians, policemen and make criminal justice system ineffective with huge money they make from nefarious activities. They cannot be defeated unless society as a whole stands against them.

The police department is highly politicised and lacks qualified staff and discipline. In courts, thousands of cases are pending. The courts not only are overworked but also function in outdated fashion. Crimes, especially against children and women, are symptoms of a rotten society where the majority is not sensitised and civilised. These include the so-called literate as well. The criminals are not afraid of law and police.

Criminal justice system, due to lack of political will, will eventually collapse. Sex abuse and other crimes are indicative of deep-rooted ills in society — lawlessness, poverty, ignorance, lack of civility and moral values, disrespect for rights of others and socio-economic inequalities. Instead of removing the causes of these ills, we want to cure only symptoms asking for spending more on police and judiciary. Unless we cure the real maladies through reforms and good governance, these ghastly crimes will continue.

The writer, Advocate Supreme Court, is Adjunct Faculty at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Email: ikram@huzaimaikram.com; Twitter: @drikramulhaq

Published in Daily Times, January 28^th 2018.