Justice Denied
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Baby thrown into canal; Zardari takes prompt action, seeks report
By Rauf Klasra
ISLAMABAD: There is more to the bone-chilling account of the 17-year-old Taslim Solangi of Khairpur who was thrown to dogs — she was 8-month pregnant and was forced to give birth to her baby prematurely.
The baby was immediately thrown into the nearby Ubhal Wah canal after her killer father-in-law passed a judgement that the child was illegitimate and did not deserve to be allowed to live.
Meanwhile, a new report said hit men have also been dispatched to Karachi to kill the absconding mother of Taslim who had fled the village. Top level inside sources have now confirmed to The News on good authority that at the time of her murder Taslim was to give birth to her first child in two-week time.
But, once the decision to eliminate her was taken by her father-in-law Zamir Solangi, she was taken to a local midwife Mrs Badshaan alias Baashi for forced delivery of the child. Soon after the delivery, the baby was thrown into the nearby canal and later the mother was put to death.
In Islamabad, President Asif Ali Zardari reacted sharply to the report of killing of Taslim and has asked lady MNA Nafeesa Shah to investigate the shocking event and submit him a report. President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar told The News that the president was greatly disturbed over the incident and had immediately asked Nafeesa Shah to investigate the matter.
Mr Babar said the lady MNA, who was scheduled to leave for Turkey along with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, has cancelled her trip and decided to go to her village and probe the incident.
Meanwhile, source said, an influential assistant commissioner serving in the Sindh government, who heads the Solangi tribe, is said to have played a key role in facilitating the murder of the 17-year old girl. Mrs Zakran, the mother of the victim, is hiding in Karachi as Zamir Solangi has now dispatched hit men to kill her.
A source said: “You are talking about some one who was murdered in March, but no one is talking about the mother of the victim whose life is in serious danger after she decided to take on the killers of her daughter.î
The murderer is still at large, telling every body that he has sent hired assassins to eliminate the mother of his daughter-in-law. The police have instead arrested the husband of the girl, who volunteered to confess that he has killed his wife.
Gul Sher had married a woman of the adjoining Kanhar tribe from whom he had two sons and as many daughters. Taslim was the elder daughter, who was married to the son of her real uncle Zamir Solangi. One day, the mother of Taslim borrowed jewellery from her neighbours and fled the village along with her children. It is not known why she left her house, leaving her husband behind in the village.
She settled in Karachi with her children. After some time, she got her daughter Taslim married to a young man of Kanhar tribe of the same area. This marriage had taken place in Karachi. Having no idea that the young man belonged to the adjoining village of her own village, she married off her daughter to him. The Kanhar tribes have many houses adjacent to Hajana Shah, Pir jo Goth (the area of Pir of Pagara). One day, the young man took his wife Taslim to his village, as he did not know the history of her mother-in-law. By chance, some women from Hajna Shah came to visit the very house of the Kanhar tribe and learnt that Taslim had remarried to another man. They went back and informed their elders the whole story. This became a matter of enmity between the Solangi and Kanhar tribes. However, the chief of Solangi tribe and a serving assistant commissioner Sain Dad brokered a deal between the two tribes.
The assistant commissioner decided that the Kanhar tribe would pay a fine of Rs 400,000 to the Sloangi family for remarrying the girl. Likewise, Sain Dad also made the Kanhar tribe to hand over Taslim to an old man Khajan of Hajana Shah village as ëAmaanatي till a final decision. The girl was handed over to one Mulla Ajao who later handed her over to Mr Khajan who kept her in his home.
But one morning Zamir Solangi came to Khajan with holy Quran in his hands to assure him that if he handed over his daughter-in-law, he would not harm her. He vowed on Quran that he would not kill her and would keep her at his house. Zamir also gave a word on Quran to her frightened niece and daughter-in-law Taslim that he would not kill her. Khajan agreed and handed over the girl to Zamir Solangi.
After taking the girl to his home, the first thing he did was to take the pregnant Taslim to a midwife Baashi to arrange the delivery of the child whose actual date of delivery was still fifteen days away. The moment the child was born, he was thrown in the Ujhal Wah canal.
Zamir Solangi forced his son Ibrahim Solangi to declare that his wife was a ëKaaliي. He asked his son it was better that he confessed to police that he had killed his wife for being ëKaaliي, as it would be easy at the later stage to get him out of jail after some compromise, as happens in the cases of honour killing. Ibrahim went to the police station and confessed to have killed his wife in the name of honour. Thus the real killer managed to escape arrest.
Meanwhile, the Ahmedpur police station officials did not show any interest in further investigating the whole issue after the husband of girl surrendered before the police. Talking to The News, DSP Khairpur Liaqat Abbasi said it was a simple case of honour killing, as the husband had confessed to the crime and was in jail. He claimed that there was some dispute over the payment of money, which had actually led to big hue and cry.
Meanwhile, MNA Nafisa Shah, who belongs to Khairpur, has condemned the incident of Taslim Solangi’s murder, which she termed as cruel, inhuman and barbaric. She also condemned the role of the Jirga.
There have been numerous cases where the MNA, a former Nazim, has taken personal risks and saved lives of many women. There have been other cases when she learnt of deaths months after the incidents and ordered enquiries and the culprits were brought to justice. This has been duly acknowledged nationally and internationally, as she received a number of citations on peace and human rights.
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