LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Hina Pervez Butt has submitted a resolution in the Punjab Assembly condemning the ‘revenge rape’ of two girls on the order of the area’s panchayat in Pir Mahal area of Toba Tek Singh.
A four-member local council within the jurisdiction of Pir Mahal police station passed an order to avenge a girl’s rape by allowing another rape in compensation.
Pir Mahal police took action after it came to know about the crime. A revenue stamp paper was revealed for the out-of-court settlement.
Both parties had agreed to an out-of-court settlement using stamp paper in which both rapes were mentioned while it was decided that no party would take any legal action against the other.
Police registered an FIR [First Information Report] against the suspects and took them all into custody, including the panchayat members. Eight among the 12 accused were sent to the jail on judicial remand, while the remaining accused were sent on physical remand.
The resolution submitted in the provincial assembly starts by condemning the revenge rape and states that the panchayat gave the punishment of rape to the perpetrator’s sister.
The resolution demanded that a law be constituted to take action against such informal institutions of law like panchayats and jirgas in rural areas. Due to these panchayats, thousands of girls have become victims of such tyranny.