Sonia Naz: Rape Case (Part III) - Subsequent Events

How the Events Unfolded

News of Sonia Naz’s rape was broken by Rauf Klasra of the Jang group of news media. A sister Jang organisation Geo TV regularly flashed it on the screen as the leading news breaking story.

Thanks to Mukhtaran Mai and her supporters throughout the world and the pandemonium they created in local officialdom, ‘rape’ is no longer a word that can be easily swept under the carpet in Pakistan anymore.

The hot story that is doing the rounds among the journalist is Punjab chief minister Pervez Ellahi’s reaction to this sordid criminal event. A news staffer from Geo TV rang the chief minister on 30 August for his views on the breaking news story. This is roughly what Pervez Ellahi is believed to have said (translated into English).

You fellows were completely wrong to make such a fuss about this rape. These things happen all the time. It’s no big deal. Now thanks to all the fuss Geo has created I have to suspend Superintendent Khalid Abdullah from his job. This is something I was pressured into doing and would not have done if normality had prevailed.

So according to this senior politico it is the news media fault, but he had been, to his dismay, outgunned. The police are obviously dear to the Chaudhries of Gujrat as it is with their help that this political family manages to grip the reins of power in Punjab.

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Thanks to Geo TV a ruckus had been created by the parliamentarians in the National Assembly. A number of MNAs put pressure on Shaukat Aziz – our nominal prime minister- to act on the issue. With the memory of the Mukhtaran Mai debacle before him, Aziz was quick to respond.

Newspapers have reported that Shaukat Aziz rang the obdurate Pervez Elahi and told him to suspend both Superintendent Khalid Abdullah and Inspector Jamshed Chisti from their posts. He also ordered a judicial investigation into the incident. The Punjab government has now requested the Lahore High Court registrar to appoint a judge for the investigative tribunal.

In another development a lawyer has filed an application to the Supreme Court (SC) seeking the chief justice’s suo motu notice, requesting for an immediate hearing of the plea and action against the named police officials.

Related Sonia Naz Blogs
The Glasshouse –I Was Raped on Police Officer’s Orders (Part I)
The Glasshouse - Sonia Naz: Rape Case (Part II) - The Background
The Glasshouse - Sonia Naz - Rape Case (Part IV) – Latest Update
The Glasshouse - A Sonia Naz Update - 26th September
The Glasshouse - Sonia Naz - Rape Case (Part V) – November Update
The Glasshouse - Sonia Naz : A Victim of Grubby Punjab Politics?
The Glasshouse - Sonia Naz – The Unfolding Tragedy – April 2005

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