- LHC rejects Punjab govt application for establishment of a judicial commission to probe child pornography case
The chief justice Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday rejected an application from the Punjab government which sought to establish a judicial commission to probe the child pornography case in Kasur.
The LHC chief justice observed that since the Punjab Police was already investigating the case, there was no need of a separate judicial commission to probe the matter.
A gang of men was believed to have recorded as many as 400 videos of sexual abuse involving at least 280 children belonging to Hussain Khan Wala village near Kasur.
Earlier on Sunday, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had ordered a judicial enquiry into the country’s biggest child pornography scandal in Kasur.
MORE ARRESTS:
In the meanwhile, the number of accused in the case has increased to 14 after police made two more arrests on Monday.
The arrests came after the interim bail extension of five accused was denied by a local court. Police said seven accused are on judicial remand.
Haseeb Amir, the main accused of Kasur child abuse scandal, has confessed to subjecting children to abuse and making their videos.
SP Investigation Kasur said a statement given to the police, the main accused of the child abuse scandal admitted to committing the crime of sexually abusing children and capturing the same in videos.
On the other hand, the court has reserved verdict in protective bails of culprits arrested for child molestation in Kasur.
MILITARY COURTS?
Moreover, a petition has been filed in the LHC, seeking directions for the trial of culprits of Kasur incident in a military court.
Advocate Aftab Bajwa submitted the petition where he stated that the incident was just like terrorism, wherein many boys did suffer at the hands of culprits. He said the police had registered cases against the accused under Sections 506, 293, 387, 386 and 377 of the Criminal Procedure Code but did not include Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
PUNJAB ASSEMBLY BECOMES ACTIVE:
In the meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) have filed motions and call attentions notices in the Punjab Assembly condemning the children molestation incident.
The Punjab Assembly opposition leader called for stern action against the culprits and justice for the troubled families. JI’s parliamentary leader Syed Waseem Akhtar filed the notice and motion. Akhtar termed the incident most shameful act in the history of the country.
SENATE AGAINST CHILD ABUSE
Moreover, the Senate, which resumed its session on Monday, passed a unanimous resolution condemning in strongest terms the heinous crime of child abuse committed against innocent citizens of Kasur district.
The resolution moved by Nasreen Jalil was not opposed by Leader of the House Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq, who pointed out that the provincial government has already announced to probe the incident through judicial commission. Motions moved by Sassi Palejo, Azam Swati and Mohsin Aziz on the same issue were clubbed together.
KP ASSEMBLY SHOWS SOLIDARITY:
Furthermore, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Monday passed unanimous resolution to condemn the incident of sexual abuse of children in Kasur.
The joint resolution of the opposition and treasury benches was read out by Nighat Yasmin Orakzai of PPP in the house. The resolution was carrying the signatures of the mover, Nighat Yasmin Orakzai, Provincial Ministers Inayatullah Khan, Atif Khan, Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi, Sardar Hussain Babak (ANP), Shah Hussain JUI-F, Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotah (PML-N), Bakht Baidar Khan (QWP) and Akbar Hayat Khan (PML-N).
NGOS DEMANDS ACTION:
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed grave concern over sexual abuse of children in Kasur and demanded prompt investigation, prosecution and effective steps to save the children from sexual violence.
Moreover, the Aurat Foundation in a special meeting expressed serious concerns on the state of violence against children in Pakistan and strongly condemned the country’s biggest sexual abuse scandal against children in Kasur.