KARACHI, Jan 26: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and another NGO, the Aurat Foundation, on Wednesday expressed their support for the lady doctor allegedly subjected to rape in Sui
, Balochistan, earlier this month, and deplored executives of the Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) for not contacting her or her family ever since she had been brought to Karachi.
The NGOs also condemned the arbitrary release of Dr Usman Wada and Dr Mohammad Ali, and demanded that they and all those nominated as accused in the lady doctor's statement be arrested.
The organizations also demand that the victim be provided with a copy of her medical report and the FIR of the case be made public. The FIR, they maintained, should include the names of all the nominated accused, who had aided and abetted the crime and culprits.
They were of the view that the one-man judicial tribunal had recorded the victim's statement without any prior legal advice or help having been provided to her. Therefore, it was unacceptable, they added.
The NGOs stressed that the victim should be provided with medical and legal aid and access to human rights and women's rights organizations as she was under pressure from several quarters, including her own tribe.
They demanded that their representatives be allowed to observe the judicial proceedings and the right to cross-examine, if necessary. They emphasized that the investigation process should be transparent and should involve human rights and women's rights organizations. The report of the inquiry commission should be made public, they added.
The organizations called for an inquiry into the negligence on the part of the PPL and DSG (the group that provides security at the PPL installation). The government should handle this in a fair manner and ensure that justice prevailed, they said.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Medical Association has expressed concern over the alleged move by the tribal elders who met recently in Khairpur to declare the rape victim as 'kari'. It claimed that this report had further pressured the victim and her family.
