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| July 12, 2006 | Wednesday | Jumadi-ul-Sani 15, 1427 |
Women prisoners denied bail
PESHAWAR, July 11: Two women prisoners seeking release under the ‘Law Reforms Ordinance 2006’ promulgated by the president on July 7 were denied bail by a local court which observed that newspaper reports could not be made basis for entertaining their petitions.
The petitioners, Ms Fareeda Bano and Ms Shamim, were arrested in connection with the kidnapping of an infant from a hospital.
The court of additional district and sessions judge, Khwaja Wajihuddin, dismissed the pre-arrest bail petition of another woman, Ms Gohara, in the same case.
Appearing for petitioners, advocate Arshad Khan produced a copy of Dawn carrying a report which said that all offences other than murder and terrorism had been turned bailable for women prisoners by the president.
The court directed the lawyer to produce a copy of the ordinance, saying that bail could not be granted on the basis of news reports.
The lawyer said he had visited various government offices for a copy of the ordinance, but in vain.
He argued that even on merit petitioners were entitled to bail as there was no evidence against them. He pointed out that they were charged only on the basis of suspicions.
The FIR was lodged by Muhammad Israr, a resident of Batagram, with the Kabuli police on June 28. He said his infant son was under-treatment in the Lady Reading Hospital’s nursery ward when he was taken away. He charged a number of staff members, including staff nurse Gohara, Fareeda Bano and Shamim.
TRIBAL AREA: With confusion still persisting about release of women prisoners in the NWFP under a presidential ordinance, it is learnt that the ordinance would not be applicable to the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata).
A government official told Dawn that unless the NWFP governor issued a notification with the approval of the president of Pakistan, the recently promulgated ordinance would not be applicable to the seven Pata districts.
“Under Article 247 of the Constitution, no ordinance or act of the Parliament is applicable to Pata unless the governor issues a notification in that regard,” the official said.
There are three district prisons, two sub-jails and one judicial lock-up in Pata where about 49 under-trial women have been kept.
About 31 are in District Prison Timergarah (Lower Dir) and 14 in sub-jail Daggar (Buner).
An official of the prison department said that they had yet not received any directive from the government regarding the ordinance.
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