Wednesday, February 28, 2007

The mother of a teenage girl, allegedly sold by her (late) father when she
was one-year-old after incurring heavy debt in gambling, has threatened to
immolate herself if the girl, now 16, is not saved from being handed over to
a middle-aged man. Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on
Monday, Ms Nooran, of Zeal Pak Colony, Latifabad, said her late husband
Rahib was a gambler and he had sold their one-year-old daughter Rasheeda for
Rs10,000 to one Lal Hyder after incurring heavy debt in gambling. She said
that her parents gave her Rs10,000 and she returned the money to Lal. She
said that Lal was pressuring her to marry off Rasheeda to his son. She said
her sons Peeral and Abdul Wahab were receiving threats. She threatened to
immolate herself if she and her family were not saved from harassment and
provided protection from Lal, his son Ghani and others. Taking notice of the
press conference, Hyderabad District Police Officer Ali Ahmed Junejo ordered
registration of a case and the Site police station registered an FIR under
Sections 147, 148, 149, 504 and 506(2) of the Pakistan Penal Code against 10
people. Police teams have been constituted for the arrest of the accused.
Reuters adds: Rasheeda said she had filed applications with police and a
local councillor asking them to prevent Lal Hyder from taking her to his
home. Nooran said her husband had racked up the debt of Rs10,000 to Lal
playing cards. "My husband didn't have money to pay, and instead he told Lal
that he could take Rasheeda when she grows up," she said. Despite being paid
his money, she said, Lal still insisted the girl should be given to him
because of tribal customs. Both families belong to the same tribe. The
girl's
uncle, Dur Mohammad, said Lal apparently wanted to marry the girl to his
son. Khalid Rajput, a local councillor, said the decision that Rasheeda
should be handed over had been taken last week at a tribal council. "We know
some tribal elders from Balochistan came for the meeting in which the girl's
family was told to give her as per their customs," he said. Irfan Bhutto, a
police officer, said Lal had been summoned. "We will ensure the girl does
not have to do anything against her will."