Gang Rape at International Islamic University Islamabad and The liberals’ slogan “my body is my will” upheld
By: Raja Nusrat Ali
Police did not take any action on a gang-rape incident at the International Islamic University Islamabad simply because the victim did not want any such action against the accused. If the video of the incident had not gone viral, no one would have known about it. The handling of the said rape case on the police of police in the state of Madinah (Islamic Pakistan) is strange and unusual. The example it has set in Islamabad will have effects. Murder and enmity will flourish. It seems, if the police is correct, our law provides scope for obscenity, adultery and forcible adultery. So it will be a common practice. Incidents of rape are already ending in forcible consent and forcible silence. Who can explain to Amir-ul-Momineen Imran Khan that not stopping this sin is as dangerous as giving military bases to America?
For the past two or three years, when a section of women on International Women’s Day has displayed placards of “My Body, My Will”, there has been a flurry of media outlets, with most expressing grief, anger and concern. The slogan “My body is my will” is very offensive because our culture does not allow it and it has no place in Islamic teachings as a whole. The Constitution of Pakistan does not allow any law to be passed that contradicts the Qur’an and Sunnah. Last week, an incident in Islamabad was reported in all the national newspapers (Urdu and English) on June 18 in which a 24-year-old student of Quaid-e-Azam University was gang-raped in the hostel of International Islamic University. The rector of the International University confirmed the incident and said that the victim did not want the incident to be reported to the police.
As the rape took place in the state of Madinah, the international media took an interest in it, and the BBC published a detailed report examining how a rape case is handled and tolerated by Pakistani society? According to reports, two days after the incident, a secret meeting of the disciplinary committee of the Islamic University was held on June 18 in which the affected youth was asked to remain calm while two accused students Muhammad Ibrahim Khan and Mahmood Ashraf were expelled from the university.
SP Islamabad Industrial Area Zone Fida Hussain Satti told the BBC that the victim had given in writing to PIMS Hospital stating that he did not want any action against the accused. He further said that the police could not take any action in this case. Complainant
Dr Farrukh Kamal, in-charge of the emergency department at PIMS Hospital, told the BBC that a detailed medical examination and report of the rape case required the victim’s permission and that the doctor could not examine the victim on his own without the consent of the victim.
Legal experts do not agree that legal action cannot be taken against the offenders in this particular case. According to Farhad Ali, a legal expert, rape is considered a crime against the state. In this particular case, the police or the university administration can be complainant and a case can be registered. It is not necessary for the victim to file an FIR himself. Furthermore, there are many decisions in which the court has said that it is the duty of the police to investigate the crime. The police should not wait for the plaintiff to appear before it as the police is held responsible for the delay or the loss of evidence. According to Supreme Court Advocate Zia Awan, if an act is considered a crime by the state of Pakistan, an FIR must be registered. He termed the non-investigation of the case as negligence of the SHO.
One wonders how it was accepted in the state of Madinah that three people raped a 24-year-old man all night long and the police stopped the action simply because the victim did not want to take any action against the accused. It is a matter of concern and regret that no government minister or adviser to the Interior Ministry has taken any notice.
The rector of International Islamic University Islamabad suppressed the incident with his influence to save his job and the reputation of the university. The victim was threatened, coveted or blackmailed.The background of the accused students is not known. The SP also refused to act. If the incident had happened elsewhere, the police would have taken action as there is a lot of stakes in such incidents. But the danger and the sad thing is that the state was nowhere to be seen in this tragedy. It seems that the sloganeers of “my body is my will” have established their dominance over Islamabad.
