Daily Times

Mr Shahbaz Sharif in a voice bursting with pride, on floor of the national assembly, commenting on the heinous crime said that the motorway where the crime took place was built by Mr Nawaz Sharif. His party MNAs roared approval thumping their desks.

On an intertwining note, opposition used this crime to exchange barbs with the government benches. ‘The opposition leader proposed the speaker to constitute a committee of the House to look into the security lapse on the motorway. He accused the government of appointing incompetent officials which led to a surge in crimes.’

CCPO Umer Sheikh poured criticism on the victim, by insensitively remarking of herbeing at the wrong place at a wrong time. The choice of travel should have been the GT road. The petrol in the car must have been checked (ideally yes, yet God knows under what personal pressures the victim left at such a time to undertake the journey). He may have apologized for his ill-considered remarks but the insult added to injury has been felt by millions of women across the country as well as by sensible men.

Targeting the victim, ‘being at the wrong place at a wrong time,’ the victim’s reputation, dressing and so on are all laid threadbare and dissected. The absence of gender focused education and stereotyping does not help

The complete lack of efficiency by police was exposed starkly in their contradictory statements. CCPO Lahore Umar Sheikh on day following the crime stated she never called for help, some relativeof her’s did. IG Motoway Mr Kaleem Imam however stated the victim contacted motorway police at 2 am give or take. She was informed that the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway does not fall within their jurisdiction. The lady upon being put across to FWO did not receive help. Dolphin Force statement records 15 calls at 2:49am and reaching the victim at 2:53am. The prize of efficiency is bagged by the Gujjarpura police FIR stating that upon reaching the scene of crime, at 4 am there was no one there.

‘A spokesperson for the motorway police said the incident had not occurred within their limits.”The area of Karol Ghati and Gujjarpura police station… Ring Road and Lahore-Sialkot Motorway…. they don’t fall within the jurisdiction of the motorway police,” he added.'(Express Tribune September 10, 2020)

Reportedly one of the suspected in the crime, Abid Ali has been booked in seven criminal cases between 2013 and 2017, this includes two related to gang-rape incidents.One is baffled as to how and why he still at large. Ali’s accomplice 37-year-old Waqarul Hassan approached the police denying charges and demanding a DNA to establish his innocence. It was claimed that his presence at the scene of crime was established by his telephone data.

Criminal Law (Amendment) (Offence of Rape) Act 2016 has made DNA mandatory. Trials are to be in-camera allowing witnesses and victims’to record statements and sparing them the humiliation and risk involved of coming to court being only two of the relevant clauses. ‘The media will also be restricted from publishing or publicizing the names or any information that would reveal the identity of a victim, except when publishing court judgments.’ (Dawn News. 7 October 2016) Trial must be concluded in 3 months. Punishment is either death penalty or imprisonment from 10 to 25 years.In cases gang rape the punishment is death penalty or life imprisonment.

In a rape case, proof of rape depends upon the facts and circumstances of every case. It will take into consideration the medical evidence, timing of FIR (inordinate delays will normally go against the complainant), statements by eye-witness account if any, statements and observations of members of law enforcing agencies upon reaching place of crime and statement of the complainant.

The Human Rights Watch Report 2019 quotes the organization Sahil, stating an average of 11 cases of child sexual abuse are reported daily across Pakistan. And we are not talking of overall gender based rape cases.

Stigmatizing a rape victim leads to non-pursuance of the case. The ‘honor’ of the family will be compromised, the family will be ostracized, in case of an unmarried girl there will be no one willing to marry her and absence of strong institutional support systems are only some of the reasons in many cases that may go unreported. Targeting the victim, ‘being at the wrong place at a wrong time,’ the victim’s reputation, dressing and so on are all laid threadbare and dissected. The absence of gender focused education and stereotyping does not help. The approach generally of police in such cases is a huge set-off for the victims. When a female victim, against all odds, musters courage to launch a complaint the system is not supportive.

Rape is the physical assertion of better strength over a weaker counterpart. To put them at a ‘lower rung of perception’ so to speak. It is not only women outside the bond of marriage of a man who is raped, it can also be a woman married to a man. Sadly marital rape is not recognized in Pakistan. There are no legal provisions for it.

One can only hope that the real culprits of this terrible crime are apprehended and dealt with in an exemplary manner and within the time frame stated in the Criminal Law (Amendment) (Offence of Rape) Act 2016. Let there be the consolation of justice served at least. Though no sane person can believe that the victim and her family can put a closure on the night. It is bound to scar not only her but also the innocent children who witnessed it.

The writer is a lawyer, academic and political analyst. She has authored a book titled ‘A Comparative Analysis of Media & Media Laws in Pakistan.’ She can be contacted at: yasmeenali62@gmail.com and tweets at @yasmeen_9