08 March 2021 :

Rawalpindi Additional District and Sessions Judge Jehangir Gondal awarded a death sentence and imposed a fine of Rs500,000 on a man convicted of raping a five-year-old girl.
If the convict, Munir Ahmed, fails to pay the fine, the amount would be obtained by auctioning his property, else six months would be added to his sentence.
The court termed the rape of the minor girl a heinous crime, saying that the suspect did not deserve any leniency. The court added that any relaxation in the sentence would be equivalent to promoting the offence.
Earlier on 26 January last year, the five-year-old girl had gone to a shop in Mumtaz Colony in the Dhoke Hassu area of the city but had not returned home.
When her mother had gone to look out for the girl, she had heard screams from the rented-room of Munir Ahmed in the same locality.
As the mother started shouting for help, the neighbours had gathered and rescued the minor victim after breaking the door after which she was taken to a hospital.
The suspect was locked inside the same room till the police reached the site and arrested him. A medical report and a DNA test had confirmed the molestation of the minor girl.
Hailing the court verdict, human rights activists Masood Shah and Samina Bukhari said that it was necessary to give strict punishments to such offenders to curtail crime against minors.
They stated that the sessions court was fulfilling its responsibilities in this regard, requesting the high courts and the Supreme Court to ensure speedy trials in rape cases.
The chairperson of a women rights organisation, Sameera Gul said she had staged a protest when the incident had taken place. Hailing the decision of the sessions court judge, she added that the father of the minor victim was a labourer and worked eight to 12 hours daily to feed his family.
The victim’s mother, Safina, maintained that her daughter had gone to the shop to buy something for her. She added that the minor girl fell prey to the convict but they have been served justice.