MARDAN: The district council here on Monday announced Rs2 million compensation for the family of four-year-old Asma and Rs500,000 each for four other minor victims, who had been murdered after assault in different incidents across the district during the last few months.

Advocate Himayatullah Mayar, the district nazim, had called meeting of the council to debate the inhuman incident of assault and murder of four-year-old Asma.

The members of the council belonging to ANP, PPP, JUI-F, PTI, JI, PML-N and others condemned the rape and murder of the minor girl. They also condemned other incidents of assault on small girls in the district during the last couple of months.

They said that apart from Asma, four other minor girls were murdered after assault in Katigari Lundkhwar, Chakaropul, Balagari, and Hatian areas of the district.

The district council members said that only the alleged two rapists in a case were arrested while the rest of the accused got bail in their cases due to lacunas in legal process and system.

They asked the provincial government and police high-ups to immediately arrest the real culprits in the Asma case and hang them publicly to make them example for others to avoid happening of such incident in future.

Addressing the meeting, the district nazim asked the authorities to improve police interrogation and investigation system and train police officials properly for the purpose. He asked the departments of education and social welfare to take steps for creating awareness among children about their protection and violence against them. Mr Mayar urged the provincial government to remove lacunas in legislation regarding child abuse and violence as per rules and regulations of Council of Islamic Ideology.

He urged the members of district, tehsil, village and neighbuorhood councils to utilise all their resources to create awareness against child abuse and violence in the society.

“I appeal to the chief justice of Pakistan to take suo motu action against incidents of child abuse,” he said. He also demanded reinvestigation into the three cases.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2018