The chief justice, while hearing the Tayyaba torture case on Wednesday, remarked that the court would like to hear the case in detail and then determine if criminal charges can be brought against the accused husband and wife.

The remarks were made after the challan was submitted in court by DIG Islamabad.

The chief justice also said during the hearing that it has yet to be determined if the case can be treated through existing laws or whether extraordinary measures will be taken as one of the accused is a judicial officer himself.

It is important that laws are created for children that work as household help, he remarked.

Asma Jahangir, representing various NGOs, said that every second house employs children as domestic help and measures should be taken that underage domestic help does not go through the same experience as Tayyaba.

She added that like in previous cases this time too no investigation was conducted regarding the individuals who provide children to be used as house help.

These children are handed in as slaves and no one is conducting investigations about the matter, she argued.

She further argued that the culprits should be brought to justice.

According to Asma Jahangir the enforcement of a number of steps that should be taken for the prevention of such acts is the responsibility of the parliament and not of the court.

In the previous hearing of the case the DIG had presented the investigative report of the case in front of the three-member bench headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Miyan Saqib Nisar.

At the time the DIG had asked for an additional week for further investigation in the case, at the time he had said his department was waiting for the results of the DNA test.

The next hearing for the case will be held in two weeks’ time.