Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: A joint investigation team has been constituted by abolishing the previous inquiry committee to probe the matter of conning girls belonging to Gilgit Baltistan in the name of providing them employment and handing them over to influential persons.

The new JIC is formed to save the investigations from political influence and it is expected that the committee may meet in federal capital Islamabad. Intelligence agencies are also included in the new team. Home Secretary Gilgit Baltistan Ihsan Ullah Bhutta would be the chairman of joint investigation committee, whereas Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice would be its member. Earlier, a five member inquiry committee was formed under the supervision of Speaker GB Assembly Fida Nashad that was called to submit its report within 10 days.

Well placed sources said that the some powerful elements showed the apprehensions on the previous committee that it would make a report according to the will of Chief Minister Gilgit Baltistan to save their skin. The new joint investigation committee would look into the matter minutely by recording statements of the applicant, accused person and police officers who investigated the matter in wake of the case registered at Police Station Shalimar of federal capital Islamabad, so that the facts behind the case may come to the surface. In this connection, the statement of the Daily Times reporter who broke the news story would also be recorded

Earlier, the previous committee also invited the reporter to Gilgit to record his statement but this was not possible due to security reasons. It is pertinent to mention here that Daily Times in an investigative report revealed that some ministers and members of GB Assembly brought innocent girls from Gilgit Baltistan to Islamabad by promising them jobs. There, they were handed over to some influential people for sexual exploitation.

After the publication of the report, protests raged across civil society, students organisations and religious elements railing against the tyranny of the so-called ‘important personalities’ of Gilgit Baltistan. Some of the powerful elements and top office bearers in government of GB also threatened the Daily Times journalist who broke the story.

In this connection, Islamabad Crime Reporters Association also appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take action. They told the CJP that the representatives of GB government are continuously giving threats to the reporters. So the Supreme Court may provide shelter to the journalist but also provide justice to the miserable and poor girls of Gilgit Baltistan , who are being victimised just to satisfy the lust of some big-guns of Gilgit Baltistan .