Islamabad, April 22: Uphelding the High Court’s order, the Pakistan Supreme Court today acquitting five of the six men accused of raping Mukhtar Mai, who emerged as the symbol of a movement for women’s rights after she was gang-raped on the orders of a tribal council in 2002.
The Supreme Court ? which had taken suo motu notice of the Lahore High Court’s verdict of 2005 and begun hearing the case ? today ordered that the accused who had been acquitted should be immediately freed if they were not wanted in any other cases.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice Shakirullah Jan upheld the life sentence given to one of the accused, Abdul Khaliq.
Mai expressed disappointment at the apex court’s verdict, saying she no longer trusted Pakistan’s judicial system.
“I have waited and endured problems for five years,” said Mai in a low voice.
In 2002, Mukhtar Mai, a woman from a remote district of Southern Punjab Muzaffargarh, was allegedly gang-raped by order of her tribal council as punishment for her younger brother’s alleged relationship with a woman from a powerful clan.
The Anti-Terrorism Court in Dera Ghazi Khan had heard the case and sentenced the perpetrators to death.
An appeal was later filed in the LHC, which stated that five of the six accused are innocent. Mukhtaran had then filed an appeal in the Supreme Court.
NGOs have protested the decision, saying the verdict proves that no woman is safe in Pakistan. Human rights activist Farzana Bari said the judicial process regarding rape is flawed.
—SOURCE Facenfacts.com