Influential Pir Culture, Housemaid Torture Case - Peer qanoon ki qiraft mai ayega??
Influential Pir Culture, Housemaid Torture Case - Peer qanoon ki qiraft mai ayega??
Transcript
00:00 In Ranipur, a 10-year-old girl who worked at Peer's house was found dead.
00:06 We will get more information about this from the forensic team.
00:09 Whether the girl was sexually assaulted or not.
00:12 But many people ask why did he leave Fatima at Peer's house?
00:17 Although you can see underage girls working in all the cities of Pakistan.
00:21 But in the interior Sindh, this Peer culture is a very different phenomenon.
00:26 And what is this? We will tell you.
00:28 In Ranipur, a 10-year-old girl was found dead by her family.
00:36 Fatima was one of the few girls who were kept in slavery in Peer's house.
00:42 According to initial investigations, at least 100 girls were kept as maids by the Peer family.
00:48 These girls are the daughters of the disciples.
00:50 It is necessary for every disciple to send at least one girl to serve Peer.
00:55 Like Fatima, these girls are not allowed to contact their families.
00:59 Their parents are allowed to meet them rarely.
01:02 And only in this case, when Peer allows.
01:05 This culture has been spread for decades in the Sindh's Dehi areas, which is called the land of saints and disciples.
01:11 In different Dehi areas of Sindh, there are many Peers who serve their disciples' children.
01:15 On Friday, the local court handed over the central accused Asad Shah Peer of Ranipur family to the police on four-day physical remand.
01:24 But the story does not end here.
01:26 Because this family is very politically connected.
01:29 And they do not belong to just one political party.
01:32 Those who understand their politics know that cousins of different families belong to different political parties at the same time.
01:39 So we see that the uncle of accused Peer Asad Shah is related to People's Party.
01:43 Bilawal has also gone to his house.
01:45 In addition to this, his other cousin, Peer Niaz Shah, is related to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
01:50 His ticket holder has also been left.
01:52 His other cousin is related to PMLN.
01:54 That is, he has kept all his political roots there too.
01:58 In addition to this, one cousin is in the Functional League.
02:01 So the Peer family is very well connected with all political parties.
02:05 That is why there is a fear that will he be punished?
02:08 The case of 10-year-old Fatima has come to light.
02:11 We all saw the video of her crying and dying.
02:14 I personally could not see that video.
02:16 But if we do not bring the murderer of Fatima to justice, then it is our debt to the society.
02:22 We will talk to Jibran Nasir, a social activist.
02:24 He is with us directly from Karachi.
02:26 I did not tell you the entire Shajarah lineage, but I have told you about all his political connections.
02:30 You have also covered very extensively in Interior Sindh.
02:34 Will Fatima get justice?
02:38 In a country like Pakistan, where there is loyalty, connection and understanding with the rich,
02:46 which is called the patronage system,
02:48 then it is your responsibility to bring poverty in such a country.
02:52 I think this is the biggest sin.
02:54 We talked about Sindh while you were talking about the interior.
02:57 But before that, I would like to say that in a country where there are educated officials,
03:01 who are responsible for the protection of the legal rights of the citizens of the country,
03:06 and the judges of our courts,
03:08 and if the judges have a Rizwana or Tayyaba,
03:11 who have such deep wounds in their head and have been denied treatment for so long that they get worms,
03:17 and they have been given a condition to give a statement after being under treatment for many weeks,
03:22 then you cannot doubt the people who do not come under the domain of judicial authority, executive authority or political authority,
03:28 and are not accountable.
03:32 So, when these conditions will be in the country, this culture will spread.
03:37 And when we talk about this in Sindh, I remember a picture that has gone viral.
03:41 Benazir Bhutto, who is called the "Rani Bibi Shaheed", she was also a disciple of someone.
03:46 There is also a picture, she is sitting with her Pir.
03:49 Certainly, the spiritual relations that exist in our political parties in Sindh and in Punjab,
03:55 many of their female MNAs and MPAs must have been associated with this issue.
04:00 But since they come from a class that has privilege and access,
04:05 I think they have never forcedfully worked in a spiritual leader's house, nor did their parents send them.
04:10 So, this particular thing that is being said that this is a Pir-Mureedi culture,
04:14 this is also limited to the extent of the poor.
04:16 And as far as justice is concerned, the offenses that are still being seen in the FIR are compoundable.
04:21 So, there will be no problem if after 3-4 months, when the media will move forward,
04:25 because there are so many human rights violations in the country, there is so much political turmoil,
04:28 that we are not able to cover everything, then this family will be forced.
04:32 And you were talking about their relations, leave aside their common relations,
04:36 the party office holders, who become MNAs and MPAs,
04:39 Nazim Jokio's case is in front of you,
04:42 that the torture of the head to the feet was an unforgivable murder.
04:45 And that Murshid-e-Qanun, Mr. Murtaza Wahab, who is now the Mayor of Karachi,
04:48 he went to the High Court to take bail in his car.
04:51 I don't know whether Mr. Pir Asad Shah's case will be able to be just with that girl,
04:55 that family and that entire society or not.
04:58 But there is another aspect to this, because a social conditioning is done for these families,
05:03 that if your daughters come here and serve, then in return,
05:07 they think that this is a matter of honor for them.
05:10 Because of this, our daughters go to work in that house.
05:13 So, social conditioning is done in such a way,
05:15 that they are being made hostages and they are being given a favor.
05:21 So, we have to see how firm the family is.
05:24 Because the power dynamics of the family do not match those who did this atrocity,
05:30 who killed Fatima.
05:32 Look, first of all, what protection and security will you give to the family,
05:37 if the real people of the family come under pressure and take ownership of their relations,
05:42 of Fatima's family, her parents.
05:45 And they will start putting pressure and pressure will come from inside the house,
05:48 that settle it, otherwise, our land issue, our loan issue, our dealings issue,
05:53 the matters will get ruined in that.
05:55 We have to live in this land, we don't have to go to any other city,
05:57 we don't have to settle somewhere else.
05:59 So, giving this protection, giving these facilities,
06:01 or shifting people from there under the witness protection program,
06:04 and ensuring that this trial goes on without any interference,
06:07 this is the job of the government.
06:09 I am surprised that I don't know, I don't have any report,
06:12 that the Sindh Child Protection Authority has started any fact-finding yet,
06:17 or the National Commission for the Rights of the Child has started any fact-finding yet,
06:21 which the Parliament has passed ads and empowered,
06:25 that you don't have to make laws for children,
06:28 but you have to protect them and do fact-finding,
06:31 so I don't know, the Sindh Human Rights Commission has definitely taken notice of it.
06:35 But you don't see these institutions working.
06:37 Secondly, you spoke about social conditioning, you spoke about the right thing.
06:40 Our ideology is that it has been 76 years since freedom,
06:43 but we have never been able to give the citizen the recognition of being a citizen.
06:46 If we limit the citizen to his gender,
06:50 and that gender has to suffer social parity or disparity in the society,
06:55 or if we address him only on his economic class,
06:58 or if we address him only on his religious identity,
07:00 and if that religious identity is a minority or is weak in the country,
07:03 then if someone is called a Mazara or a Mureed,
07:07 and he is told that he is born in this country to serve,
07:10 then what is the most disturbing thing?
07:12 I will close this segment with this.
07:14 When Rizwana's case was very visible on the media,
07:18 after the atrocities on Rizwana, all the countries, all the media, all the institutions were in shock.
07:24 And at the same time, somewhere in Khairpur, Ranipur,
07:27 Fatima was being beaten, Fatima was being abused,
07:30 and then she died in agony.
07:33 This is a very disturbing and sad aspect of this whole matter.