LAHORE - An anti-terrorism court yesterday framed charges against three accused of country’s biggest sexual scandal of children in Kasur district and directed the prosecution to produce witnesses on the next hearing, 28.
Police produced all three accused including Haseeb Amir, Ali Majeed and Abdul Manan before the court. Haseeb Amir was indicted in two FIRs 288 and 250 while other two accused Ali Majeed and Abdul Manan were indicted only in FIR 250.
However, the accused refused to accept the charges saying that that police booked them for point scoring. The court, however, adjourned the hearing until Nov 28 and directed prosecution to produce witnesses.
At least 280 children were tortured, sexually abused, filmed and exploited almost for seven years in Kasur--a district some 50 kilometers away from Lahore in south. The incident brought bad name to the country across the globe.
Cops’ Promotion case: Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh of the Lahore High Court yesterday sought detailed report on promotion criteria and service structure of constables serving with Telecommunication and Transport Department of Punjab police.
Waseem-ul-Hassan, a constable, filed the petition and pointed out that police constables were working with telecommunication and transport department of Punjab police for last many years. Neither were they allowed to join any other department of the government nor were they promoted to the next ranks at their own department.
The petitioner stated that constables are promoted to the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) on 25 percent quota. He said that when he and his other colleagues applied for the posts of ASI through Punjab Public Service Commission and passed the written exam of National Testing Service their telecommunication and transport department refused to issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs).
He stated that he also approached the authorities concerned but in vain. The petitioner contended that that it was their legal and fundamental right to apply and work with any public sector department.
The denial of issuance of NOCs is against the law as it was exploitive approach, he submitted. He pleaded the court to order the telecommunication and transport department to issue them NOCs, so they could join the police department as ASI.
SP (telecommunication and transport department) Zulfiqar Ali appeared before the court and told the judge that the constables of the department are promoted in accordance with set criteria.
However, he could not tell the court about service structure of the police constables. At this, Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh ordered the department to come up with promotion criteria and service structure of the constables. The court would resume hearing on Nov 25.