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| December 14, 2005 | Wednesday | Ziqa’ad 11, 1426 |
SC summons girl on 16th to clear rape allegations
ISLAMABAD, Dec 13: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a Kashmiri earthquake victim to appear before it and clear allegations about her rape by a Lahore surgeon.
The apex court directed the Lahore Police to ensure the presence of the Kashmiri girl Ajiba Jabeen on Friday (December 16) by contacting her uncle Maulana Mohammad Akram. The girl has been asked to appear in court so that she could narrate before the court the actual incident.
A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice M Javed Buttar and Justice Tassadduq Hussain Jillani was hearing a suo motu notice on the alleged rape of the girl who was admitted to Mayo Hospital Lahore after the Oct 8 earthquake.
The suo motu notice was taken by the apex court on a letter written to the Chief Justice by newly-elected President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Malik Qayyum requesting him to take notice of the December 4 alleged rape which occurred within the hospital premises and was bringing a bad name to the country.
In his letter, Malik Qayyum had asked the chief justice to take suo motu notice in the same way as was done in the cases of Mukhtaran Mai and Sonia Naz.
On Tuesday, the bench observed that the relatives of the girl, it seemed, did not want to pursue the case. On hearing this, Mr Qayyum told the court that the girl had no confidence in investigation agencies and had been shifted to some other place by her relatives.
“Why was Dr Maqsood, who allegedly raped the girl, suspended after a departmental inquiry, if no such incident had taken place in the hospital,” Mr Qayyum questioned, and said his suspension proved that such an incident did take place.
Mr Qayyum requested the court to summon the girl to ascertain facts about the incident.
Advocate General Punjab Aftab Iqbal informed the court that the girl was with her uncle Maulana Mohammad Akram.
Superintendent Police Lahore also presented a police inquiry report before the court, in which, according to Mr Qayyum, the police had stated that the girl denied the allegations of rape; besides, she had also refused to record her statement before the police or a magistrate.
Deputy Medical Superintendent Mayo Hospital Dr Tariq Ijaz admitted before the court that the girl had gone missing from the hospital for two hours on December 4.
On the request of Mr Qayyum, the bench summoned the girl to personally appear in court on Friday. It adjourned the matter for next Friday.
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