In May, 25-year-old Daulat Khan was sentenced to life imprisonment by a lower court in Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province for raping a deaf woman.
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A Pakistani court has released an accused serving a sentence in a rape case. According to the information, the accused was ready to marry the victim. On which the family members of the victim were also ready. The court ruling has angered activists, who say it legitimizes sexual violence against women in a country where most rapes go unreported.
In May, 25-year-old Daulat Khan was sentenced to life imprisonment by a lower court in Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province for raping a deaf woman. On which the relatives of the accused had given a complaint in the Peshawar High Court. The family of the victim had reached an agreement with the family of the accused in the court. After which the accused was released from the court on Monday.
Both the families settled outside the court
Khan’s lawyer Amjad Ali told AFP: “The rapist and the victim are from the same family. “After settlement with the help of the local (traditional council) the two families have come to an agreement,” he said. Earlier this year the unmarried victim had given birth to a child. After which the accused was arrested on the complaint received by the police. DNA test of the accused was done in which he turned out to be the father of the child.
There is no complaint in large number of rape cases.
Prosecuting rape is notoriously difficult in Pakistan, where women are often treated as second-class citizens. According to a Pakistani legal organisation, very few rape cases go to court. Many victims are silenced by being intimidated.
Human rights organization expressed objection
“It is effectively the court’s approval of rape and the convenience of rapists and the mindset of rape,” Iman Zainab Mazari-Hazir, a lawyer and human rights activist, told AFP about the Peshawar court’s decision. It is against the basic principles and the law of the country, which does not recognize such a system.” The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that this decision is surprising.
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