ISLAMABAD, Nov 8: A police team investigating the allegation of rape of Sonia Naz has found ‘no evidence’ to establish the charge against the accused police officials. The Supreme Court, which had ordered the Punjab Inspector-General Police to hold the inquiry, expressed dissatisfaction over the finding and asked the team to collect more evidence.

“The members of the inquiry team spent most of the time in investigating us rather the accused,” Ms Naz told Dawn after the team submitted the inquiry report to the court on Tuesday. She accused the Punjab government of protecting the offenders.

“The federal government and the Supreme Court provided me justice, but the Punjab government is out to protect its police officers,” she said, adding that her telephone was being taped.

The apex court was hearing an application of a local lawyer Zulfikar Ahmed Bhutta who had pleaded that a suo motu cognizance should be initiated against police excesses towards Ms Naz.

According to the inquiry report, submitted by team leader SSP Mohammad Aslam Tareen, the offences under Sections 10, 11, 16 and 18 of Offence of Zina Ordinance 1979 and Sections 344, 354 and 355 of the Pakistan Penal Code “were not made out, as such the same were being deleted.”

However, the report confirmed that Ms Naz and her family members were subjected to harassment, mental torture, threat and malicious prosecution forcing them to keep changing their abode.

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