Haleem demands JIT investigate harassment, killing of female students in hostels

KARACHI: Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly, PTI’s Haleem Adil Sheikh expressed serious concerns over grievous issue of harassment and killing of female students in educational institutions of the province.

Haleem Adil while speaking to media persons here at City Courts building on Saturday after hearing of a defamation case filed by Sindh minister Saeed Ghani, also called for constituting a high level Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe into increasing incidents of harassment of female students and murders of girls in hostels those were later labelled as cases of suicide.

Haleem Adil Sheikh said that “I raise voice for rights of the people of Sindh and expose transgression and corruption being committed by ministers of Sindh government and leaders of PPP and nothing could prevent me of doing so.”

He vowed that he was ready to face such cases for the cause of protection of honour of daughters of Sindh and rights and lives of people of the province.

SSP Dr. Rizwan in an investigation report charged Saeed Ghani of patronage of drug dealers, a TV channels alleged him of land grabbing and the entire labour department was pointing fingers to him for receiving extortion, he observed.

Haleem Adil said that opposition lawmakers wanted to move a resolution in Sindh assembly that daughters of Sindh were not safe even in educational institutes and there were several case of harassment surfacing day in and day out but the move was blocked by the speaker Siraj Durani.

Nousheen Shah, Namrata Kumari, Naila Rind and other daughters of Pakistan were killed in the hostels and their murders were portrayed as suicides, he alleged adding that a recent report by a LUMHS laboratory pointed out that DNA samples of same persons were found from specimen collected from cloths and corpses of Namrata and Nousheen Shah.

The Sindh Police officials, medico-legal officer of health department and officials of law and prosecution department, all, had declared both the murders as suicide cases but the DNA report has exposed them, he said.

Perveen Rind of Peoples Medical University, a couple of days ago, complained about harassment in hostel and said that female students of medical institutes were not committing suicides but they were harassed, victimized by violence and sexual assaults, and murdered and afterwards hanged to portray it as a case of suicide, Haleem Adil Sheikh observed.

The Sindh Health Minister was there on that day but she turned deaf ears to cry of Perveen Rind and did not bother to solace her, he said and added “How the health minister, who is a woman and mother herself, could be insensible to plight of a crying daughter?”

Two girls were abducted, molested and disgraced whole night in Naukot town by influential persons having connection with PPP MPA Mir Tarique, he stated adding that local police did not take timely action and the main accused were not arrested so far.

The opposition leader said he would communicate the whole situation to Prime Minister Imran Khan and will request him to form a JIT for fair investigation of all the cases of murders, sexual assaults, violence and harassment of female students in educational institutions of Sindh as provincial departments including Sindh police were clearly supporting the culprits and lost their confidence.

Haleem Adil Sheikh while levelling serious allegations on Vice Chancellor PUMHS Anila Attaur Rehman demanded that she should be removed from the post and all the accused persons should be put behind the bars and brought to justice.

Responding to a question about JIT in Nazim Jokhio murder case, Haleem Adil said that federal government has asked Sindh government to nominate a police officer for the JIT but PPP government was resorting to delaying tactics and no officer from the province was nominated.

Earlier, advocate Wahab Baloch informed the media persons that hearing of the defamation case was adjourned as court’s presiding officer was on leave.

“We are going to file objections under section 265 and 203 on jurisdiction of the court to hear the case and we will also request the court to quash the civil suit on the ground,” he further informed.