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Naz inquiry team says rape not established

By Mohammad Kamran

ISLAMABAD: A special investigation team investigating the Sonia Naz case has said that there is not enough evidence to establish allegations of abduction and rape against police officials and recommended that charges under the Zina Ordinance against the accused officials be deleted.

However, the chief justice of Pakistan rejected the report on the basis that the investigators did not consider all available facts and evidence. Sources privy to the investigation told Daily Times that the inquiry found that Sonia Naz and her family members were harassed and threatened for which the local police had been directed to submit a challan against the police officials under the Police Order 2002 instead of the Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance of 1979.

“There was an inordinate delay of about five-and-a-half months in lodging the FIR and no evidence has come on record in support of the allegations levelled by Sonia Naz,” sources said while quoting the findings of the investigation team, which was headed by Muhammad Aslam Tareen, a senior superintendent of police. The other two members of the team were CID SSP Captain (r) Muhammad Abid Qadri, and Narowal District Police Officer Captain (r) Muhammad Usman Khattak.

On Tuesday, Punjab Advocate General Aftab Iqbal submitted the report before a full bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The chief justice asked the SSP whether he had considered the nude pictures of a woman and a constable obtained from the mobile phone of Sub Inspector Fayyaz. When the SSP responded in the negative, the chief justice asked him to consider all available evidence and then derive a conclusion. The bench then adjourned proceedings until November 14 and directed the team head to submit a fresh report.

Makhdoom Ali Khan, the attorney general for Pakistan, also did not agree with the contents of the inquiry report and called it a “defective investigation”.

Naz was allegedly abducted and raped by two police officials, SP Khalid Abdullah and SHO Jamshed Iqbal Chishti. Naz claimed that she was held illegally by the two police officials for a fortnight and was raped by one and sexually and physically tortured by the other.

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