Suo motu action sought on child abuse, murder cases

The Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) on Sunday demanded that the Chief Justice of Pakistan take suo motu notice of the alleged abduction, sexual abuse and murder of children in Karachi and called for justice for the affected families within 15 days. The demand was made at a protest organised at Teen Talwar, Clifton, against what party leaders described as increasing incidents of crimes against children. Workers, women, lawyers, journalists, affected families and civil society representatives attended the demonstration. PML-F Secretary General Sardar Abdul Rahim called for suo motu action in the cases of Rosheem Khan, Mir Raza Ali, Wali, Aizal and other children. He said the affected families should be provided justice within 15 days. "If the police are not doing their job, the Chief Justice can ensure that they perform their duties according to law," he said. He also appealed to bar associations to stop representing what he described as "such cruel people and killers", saying the cases should be taken to their legal conclusion. Rahim warned that if the affected families did not receive justice within 15 days, the PML-F would launch another protest and, if necessary, demonstrate outside the CM House. Aizal's mother, Fiza, spoke about her daughter's death, saying two months had passed but the accused had yet to be punished. She said DNA evidence had already been submitted in the case but that she continued to face repeated court dates. She argued that timely punishment in such cases could help prevent similar crimes and appealed to citizens to raise their voices for victims who could no longer speak for themselves.