LAHORE: A group of people demonstrated in front of the Punjab Assembly on Thursday, demanding an impartial investigation into the ‘sudden and mysterious’ death of former Kashana resident Iqra Kainat Ilyas.

Iqra was found dead at the Edhi Home in Township, and a postmortem report revealed disquieting information about her cause of death.

According to the report, which is dated Feb 7, 2020, Iqra who was otherwise declared “fit and healthy” had died from “starvation”. It said her organs had been dispatched for further testing to ascertain any kind of poisoning.

Samples collected from her body have been sent to a forensic lab to ascertain whether she was poisoned to death, the report said.

The protest was called by Afshan Latif, the former superintendent of Kashana Social Welfare Centre, who had alleged in 2019 that the girls staying at the shelter home were being sexually abused by influential people. She had also claimed that 25 orphan girls had been married off in five years and some of them were missing after marriage.

In a letter addressed to the CCPO, Ms Latif said that after the Kashana ‘scandal’ came to the forefront, she highlighted at all government and private arenas that Kainat’s life was in danger.

“I made this statement on social media as well as TV and print media. In spite of all this, an attempt was made to bring her in the forefront as a witness against me. Till Feb 5, when the news of her death surfaced, she was nowhere to be found, and in the meantime no one from her family, including her husband, stepped forward to make any statement of her whereabouts.”

Zainab Ansari’s father Amin Ansari was also present.

Speaking to Dawn about the issue, Tahira Habib from the HRCP said it was indeed a questionable situation, where the report was kept in secrecy for a long time, only to be ‘unofficially released’ to Ms Latif after she held a hunger strike.

She said the versions of all parties were vague, including Kainat’s husband Abid Sanaullah who claimed that she had consumed acid a few days after marriage, and so she had to go to hospital.

“The Green Town SP had been in touch with me on the issue but he did not share the report with me, and did not take any calls,” she said.

“We wrote to the IGP for the report, but still did not receive it. In any case the matter remains inconclusive.”

Ms Habib said that Hina Jilani on behalf of the HRCP had filed a petition concerning the secrecy of the issue, and also to address the system of such shelter homes which need immediate overhauling, and also to question why vigilance committees in the shelter homes were suspended.

She said the next hearing was expected on March 9, and Social Welfare Department Minister Raja Basharat, former minister Ajmal Cheema, and Bilquis Edhi Centre people were among respondents.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2020