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#Pakistan - #Christian woman raped by employer then gang tells her and family they must go back to work

A Christian woman was raped by her Muslim employer, who sent for her to go to his private quarters at the end of her work shift.

After the ordeal the woman’s family still reeling from news of the sexual assault, were met by an armed gang at their home the following morning demanding they all go back to work.Rimsha Riaz (18 yrs) was employed in a glass crushing company alongside members of her family all of whom were hard-working loyal employees for Haji Ali Akbar, a successful Muslim businessman.

Members of the family turned up for work as usual on 6th July 2022 and after a tiresome shift they were all ready to go home. As they were all packing up and getting ready to leave a messenger was sent from the offices of Mr Akbar calling for the attendance of Rimsha Riaz for some extra work that was required.

The time was around 7.30pm so her mother Mumtaz Bibi (how old), brother Arslan (17 yrs) and oldest brother Adnan (25 yrs) returned home.

About an hour later Rimsha arrived home and was visibly distressed. Her mother asked her about the work Rimsha had done for Mr Akbar, at which pint she broke out into tears and informed her family that she had been raped at gunpoint.Rimsha spoke with BACA about the attack, she said:

“In his office, Mr Akbar pulled out his pistol threatened to kill me if I did not do what he wanted.

“He then started raping me.

“I cried out as loud as I could but no-one came to help.

“After he finished with me, Mr Akbar put the pistol to my ear and threatened to kill my brothers and other family members, if I dared to tell anyone.”

When Mr Akbar had completed his rape and threat he sat down and let Rimsha go. Rimsha took the opportunity to redress herself and ran all the way home.Her mother instructed the family not to go back to work ever again but did not go to police, because Christian families are generally frightened of them, and expect little justice. After two days however, on 8th July, Mr Akbar arrived at their home in the evening with a four armed men and rapped loudly on their door with the butt of his pistol. Mr Akbar shouted out to the family that they should open the door or face dire consequences. Rimsha’s brother Arslan opened the door frightened of what might happen to the family and was shocked to see all the armed men.

Arslan told us that Mr Akbar was drunk when he arrived and abused him and other family members verbally.  He demanded that they all return back to work and threatened to kill them if they failed to arrive the next day.

Arslan told him that they had left the work and would not be returning to the factory anymore. At this Muhammad Akbar furiously shouted:

“How dare you leave my factory without my permission?

You filthy Chooras (dirty Christians).

“I will kill you if you remain absent tomorrow and make sure you bring the girl.”

The whole family was left terrified and when he left the family began discussing what they should do. While they were planning what to do, Rimsha who was very distressed fainted and collapsed on the floor.  Her brother Arslan took her to District Headquarters Hospital, Gujranwala where she received treatment and a diagnosis confirmed she had been raped.

Back in the family home, Mumtaz Bibi called a close relative to ask what she should do.  He advised her to go to her local police station and report the rape and the threats.

That evening Mumtaz Bibi travelleed to Jandiala Baghwala Police Station with her relative and filed an application against Mr Akbar for raping her daughter.

The next morning arrested the culprit from his factory and registered a First Information Report – FIR No.994/22, on charges of rape undersection  376 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

376. Punishment for rape
(1) Whoever commits rape shall be punished with death or imprisonment of either description for
a term which shall not be less than ten rears or more, than twenty-five years and shall also be
liable to fine.
(2) When rape is committed by two or more persons in furtherance of common intention of all,
each of such persons shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life.”.

Despite the fact that police have arrested the culprit the family is still is in trauma and fear. Mumtaz Bibi has left her rented house in Gujanranwala and moved to a distant place at the home of her sister.

Unfortunately for Rimsha who was engaged to be married, her fiancé has now  broken the engagement on discovering the rape incident. Rimsha is visibly traumatized and depressed.

Juliet Chowdhry, Trustee for British Asian Christian Association, said:

“Rimsha is a Christian women in a country where here status makes her vulnerable.

“The fact that the rapist employer felt he could force Rimsha and her family to return to work after such an ordeal, is an illustration of the weak standing of Christians.

“In 2014, a damning report by an Islamic NGO ‘Movement of Solidarity and Peace’ reported that 700 Christian women every year are abducted, raped and forced into Islamic marriage (click here).

“This statistic does not take into count crimes of just rape – which if included would paint an even more devastating picture.

“Pakistani authorities must build in better protection for Christian women within their existing structures, or this social malaise will continue to grow.”

https://www.britishasianchristians.org/baca-news/christian-woman-raped/?fbclid=IwAR0K3BQPUPSla0Cz0GTojoWPCAcpDCIUgF2-NPo5Ooha2brg4Ps9yyrytQk_aem_AVnjIpVDaQpVcp813JO_JodkCyUFoTHAalpuuSyr2fthICtRhVh-5ROFjnytpyi6DtKrVD-WLPfRNjZ8VBxAP8Q_k4cov3GnUUtHmQ2zCczeC-oMxdShY2Iz8xOr3hWNIjHPGruwfzfRX8N1NRbzmrNs

#Pakistan - Risk of a perfect storm

By Maleeha Lodhi

POST-PUNJAB by-election developments have injected more volatility into an already fraught and vexed political situation. This has raised growing concerns about the fate of a precarious economy in the face of more political turmoil that seems to lie ahead.PTI’s stunning electoral victory was obviously consequential for the survival of the PML-N-led Punjab government. But political fortunes reversed in just a few days. In the dramatic events and wheeling and dealing that followed, the run-off election for the provincial chief minister took place on a day of surprises.

Although PTI and its ally PML-Q enjoyed a majority in the House an unexpected turn of events saw PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat declare he would not support his cousin, Pervaiz Elahi as Imran Khan’s candidate. He instructed party legislators to vote instead for Hamza Shehbaz and conveyed this decision to the deputy Speaker, who then rejected their votes cast for Elahi. This ensured a narrow win for Hamza. But instead of ending the Punjab crisis this outcome is likely to aggravate it. With Khan calling foul, the deputy Speaker’s ruling has been challenged in the Supreme Court while PTI has called for public protests against its ‘stolen mandate’. The Supreme Court may well rule against the deputy Speaker’s action.

Meanwhile, the coalition government at the centre has made it apparent it will continue in office until parliament completes its term in August 2023. But the question is how tenable this is, especially with the situation in Punjab mired in confusion.

× More importantly, can the fragile economy withstand what promises to be a period of more political turbulence and confrontation between the coalition government and PTI?

Imran Khan will continue to mount pressure on the government to hold immediate general elections. Towards this end, he is continuing to castigate the establishment on the unsubstantiated ground of siding with his political opponents. He also accuses the Election Commission of Pakistan of bias and has repeatedly demanded the chief election commissioner (CEC) — who holds a constitutional post — should resign. This despite his party’s decisive win in the by-elections in which it polled 47 per cent of the popular vote against 40pc for PML-N. Khan cast his party’s electoral success as the ‘defeat’ of both the establishment and ECP that he accused, without evidence, of trying to foil his victory.

Prevailing in the power game will be in vain if the economy tanks.

Even if Khan is able to get his way in forcing early elections, uncertainty will not end. He clearly wants a CEC of his choice. This is unlikely to happen. So how will he deal with this eventuality if and when elections are called? This raises a related question. Will he agree with his principal political rival on who should head a neutral caretaker government, constitutionally mandated under Article 224 to oversee elections? Uncertainties don’t end here. In the absence of consensus between the government and opposition on an interim arrangement, the matter goes for decision to a parliamentary committee. If that fails to reach agreement, the ECP has to make that call, under the constitutionally prescribed procedure (Article 224-A) For now, it is the economy that is being adversely affected by political turbulence. The economy is far from being out of the critical ward. True that a staff-level agreement has been reached with the IMF, expected to go for approval to its executive board in August. This did calm market sentiment, but only temporarily. Both volatility in global commodity and financial markets and political unpredictability at home is eroding confidence. The rapidly declining value of the rupee against the dollar is the most worrying sign of that. The rupee has depreciated by 20pc in the past few months, adding to spiralling inflation. The State Bank has pointed out that some of this depreciation is part of a global phenomenon due to the growing strength of the dollar. But other factors have also contributed over the months. Finance Minister Miftah Ismail attributed last week’s rupee plunge to a historic low to market panic due to “political turmoil”. While he hopes this will soon recede, continuing political confrontation suggests otherwise.

In fact, the market will remain nervous until Pakistan gets significant cash injections from the IMF and others. Reports indicate that the Fund will release the first tranche of $1.1 billion once Saudi Arabia provides SDR (special drawing rights) of around $2.6bn because Pakistan’s financing needs far exceed what IMF can disburse. The finance minister acknowledged in his press conference last week that a “friendly country” would transfer SDRs through the IMF.

Meanwhile, the recent downgrade of Pakistan’s credit rating outlook by Fitch Ratings has added to market jitters.

The country’s foreign exchange reserves are around $9.7bn, which cover less than six weeks of imports. As the reserve cushion has begun to erode so has confidence. Moreover, heavy external obligations lie ahead — over $30bn estimated for this fiscal year, $21bn to repay debt and $10-12bn to fund the current account deficit. This heightens the risk of a perfect storm. If reserves continue to dwindle, external capital injections prove inadequate or envisaged inflows don’t materialise, panic can take hold in markets even ahead of a cash flow crisis. Confidence can quickly evaporate over the perceived inability of the country to meet its financing requirements. In a scenario where panic sets in and speculative pressures mount, people start converting rupees into dollars as a hedge against risk. This pressure can prompt the central bank to quickly run down reserves. And if the State Bank does not use its reserves, the rupee’s value plunges even more. This in turn can fuel another round of already high inflation, produce a sharp rise in import costs for fuel and of course aggravate the problem of a runaway fiscal deficit.

The tenuous state of the economy urges an end to political turmoil and calls for responsible economic management in the months ahead. The fate of the economy is more consequential for the country than who wins the ongoing political battle. Prevailing in the power game will, in any case, be in vain if the battle for Pakistan’s economic stability is lost.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1701462/risk-of-a-perfect-storm

PAKISTAN: Three persons can’t decide country’s fate

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari Monday said the only demand of the country’s democratic parties was the constitution of a full court bench to hear the case related to the Punjab chief minister’s election. “It cannot happen that only three people decide this country’s fate. That only they decide whether this country is run through a democratic system, an elected system or a selected system,” he said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad. Bilawal said that all the parties in the coalition government wanted a democratic system. He said “some powers” were unable to digest that Pakistan was moving towards democracy and the people were making their own decisions. He said that the PTI chief had trampled on the province’s rights during his time in government which had proven to be disastrous for the country and the economy. Bilawal said that as a result of the government’s democratic struggles, the country’s institutions were compelled to change their “controversial, unconstitutional and undemocratic role”.

“And it has been three months and some powers, people, political parties and conspirators are unable to tolerate […] a campaign is being run in the country to keep Imran Khan at the forefront,” says a news report. He alleged that this campaign was a conspiracy against the country’s economic progress and democratic journey. “We did not let any conspiracy succeed in the past and we will not let it happen now. We want institutions to remain uncontroversial.” The foreign minister said that everyone will accept the verdict when all the judges listen to the case.

“If only three judges give a decision, then we will not be able to control the political situation that will develop in this country.” He said that the Constitution could not be altered due to the pressure asserted by the PTI chief. “We all want full court bench. Whatever you decide then will be according to the law and Constitution and we will trust it.”

https://dailytimes.com.pk/972273/three-persons-cant-decide-countrys-fate/