[Current Affairs] March 22, 2021 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for Entry Test Preparation

2. Motorway rape suspects receive death sentence

What’s going on? An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore, Pakistan sentenced Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali to death for the gang rape of a woman last year. The ATC also sentenced the men to life in prison, and imposed a fine of PKR 50,000 each. Malhi and Ali will reportedly appeal against the decision.

The details: Police used mobile phone data to track down Malhi and Ali, who were prime suspects in the rape case. DNA samples from the crime scene matched theirs. The rape survivor also identified the two men during a hearing.

The context: On September 9, 2020, a woman was traveling from Lahore to Gujranwala with her children. Her car ran out of fuel while she was crossing the toll plaza on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway.  She called her relatives in Gujranwala, who told her to call the motorway emergency number. While she was stranded, two armed men broke into her car, took her and her children to a nearby field at gunpoint, and gang-raped her. The robbers also stole her cash, jewelry and bank cards.

Something to know: A senior police official in Lahore, Umer Sheikh, suggested that her own decisions got her into trouble. He questioned why she left the house late at night, drove alone with her kids, didn’t check the petrol in her car, and didn’t take a busier road. He also said the woman, who is a Pakistani-origin resident of France, thought she was in France and not Pakistan where society is different. The rape incident and Sheikh’s comments sparked countrywide protests. Protestors accused him of victim-blaming the motorway rape survivor.

Looking ahead: Rape is a criminal offense in Pakistan, punishable by death or imprisonment. Activists and legal experts argue that existing severe punishments haven’t deterred rape crimes. In December 2020, President Arif Alvi signed a new anti-rape ordinance into law. The law’s main purpose is to speed up convictions and enforce tougher punishments.

The bottom line: Following the motorway rape incident, PM Khan said rapists should be given the most severe punishment, such as public hangings or chemical castration. The question is, will the threat of severe punishment deter potential rapists in a country where rape cases are known to be underreported and conviction rates are notoriously low?