Rape no more a punishable sin in Capital

Total 103 rape cases were registered in Islamabad Capital Territory from January 1, 2008 to November 11, 2013. However, none of the accused has been convicted, said Minister of State for Interior Baleeghur Rehman telling the upper house that no rape culprit within Islamabad Capital Territory jurisdiction was punished during last five years on Thursday.

Replying the questions during question hour, the minister said, out of total 103 cases registered, 83 accused were challaned with one remaining untraced and 14 cases were cancelled.

Giving further details, the minister said, there are five cases under investigation, 150 accused were arrested among whom 30 were released and total 53 cases are pending before the courts of law.

When question about this poor performance, the minister said, conviction is the mandate of courts. As many as 83 persons have been challaned and decision on their cases is awaited from the courts.

He however agreed with the members that rate of deciding the cases and conduct of the prosecution was unsatisfactory. “I agree that there is need to further strengthening the prosecution. But, even in the cases where prosecution has completed its task, the matter is pending with the courts.”

When asked if the number of cases were fair, the minister said, in some cases the matter is settled out of court. Sometimes witnesses do not appear before the courts and sometimes the aggrieved parties themselves do not approach the police stations or the court with the fear of defame.

“On our end, we shall try to improve the situation and strengthen prosecution,” he said and described non-implementation of Police Order 2002 in the federal capital as a reason behind less effective prosecution.