Sonia Naz : A Victim of Grubby Punjab Politics?

In an earlier blog Sonia Naz: Rape Case (Part III) - Subsequent Events, dated 1 September 2005, I had written:

The hot story that is doing the rounds among the journalist community 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.

So why was chief minister Pervez Elahi so upset about the alleged rapist Superintendent Khalid Abdullah’s forced suspension?

A subsequent article from The Nation provides a solid clue:

The shameful acts of the main accused SP Khalid Abdullah has been widely reported in Press that leaves us in state of frenzy. Nevertheless, what has made him to commit such weird and sinful acts? Is it a result of mere donning of ‘shahi police’ uniform? The short answer is no. In fact, lack of accountability let him to thrive. He remained a major beneficiary of the benevolence extended by Chaudries of Punjab as he enjoyed close affinity with them. This allowed him to go haywire in discharge of his duties.

The article then goes onto highlight the previous political connections between Khalid Abdullah and the Gujrat Choudhries:

Recently, fact-finding made by some agencies on the orders of President Musharraf and reported in print media has revealed that Mr Khalid Abdullah was suspended in capacity of DSP by the then CM Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif in the course of implementation of his police reforms. He was actually part of those ‘notorious fifty’ DSPs of Punjab who were put under suspension by Mr Shahbaz because of malpractices. Disciplinary action was under way for their dismissal from service when the Shahbaz government was removed on 12th October.It is a matter of record that Mian Shahbaz did not budge an inch in taking action against the corrupt despite all sorts of pressures. In case of DSP Khalid Abdullah whose son-in-law was also PML(N) MPA from Nankana, Mr Shahbaz received phone calls from Ch Shujaat, the then Interior Minister and from Ch Pervaiz Elahi, the then Speaker of Punjab Assembly for his reinstatement but he stuck to his policy of across the board accountability and politely refused to the big wigs of Punjab.

The article then informs us that from being one of the 'notorious DSPs of Punjab up for dismissal from service’, Khalid Abdullah ends up getting promoted rather than punished for his misdeeds. Wow!

Fact-finding has further revealed that after becoming CM Punjab, Ch Pervaiz Elahi did not forget DSP Khalid Abdullah. He had him reinstated, resultantly culminating into his elevation to the rank of SP. Eyes were closed, and so were the files. The pumped-up SP then making full use of his ‘affinity’ made a fortune not commensurate to his known sources of income and ended up by making Sonia Naz his dreadful victim. Who is responsible for this crime? Just please open the eyes and the files. People want justice.

Just in case you still think the connection between Khalid Abdullah and the Gujrat Choudhries is spurious and a politically motivated 'untruth', read the following press item from The News newspaper of 31 October 2005:

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Inspector-General (Investigation) Zafar Ahmed Qureshi, who had recently investigated the Sonia Naz rape incident, has been relieved of his duty by the Punjab government with immediate effect.Qureshi was informed on Saturday that he should not attend his office where he used to sit as DIG investigation as his services were not required any more.

He got respect from the public and the judiciary when he recommended registration of an FIR against SP Khalid Abdullah despite the fact that the provincial ruling elite was openly favouring the accused police officer.

So there you have it. Apparently under Musharraf's 'moderate and enlightened' Punjab, a policeman charged with thuggish misdeeds can get promoted, while another who gets ‘respect from the public and the judiciary’ can suddenly lose his job.

Vive le Choudhries de Gujrat !
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Postscript
Your blogger has just come across another news item from The News newspaper which informs us that the police report submitted by the Punjab police was all but laughed out of the Supreme Court:

[The] Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry Tuesday snubbed Punjab police officers for declaring Superintendent of Police Khalid Abdullah "innocent" in Sonia Naz’s abduction and rape case and dismissed a new report after finding many flaws in it…. The inquiry report presented before the court Tuesday was so faulty that even the attorney general agreed [with] the Supreme Court’s observations that the report was a flawed one and could not be trusted.

Interestingly the newspaper also reveals the leniency shown by the Punjab government towards the accused kidnapper/rapist:

The powers-that-be have already managed to keep SP Khalid Abdullah in a VIP room of a Punjab hospital instead of sending him to jail following the termination of his physical remand.

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 III) - Subsequent Events
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 – The Unfolding Tragedy – April 2005

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