LHC seeks reply in Kashana case

The Lahore High Court on Wednesday sought replies from provincial law ministry and other departments by December 24 on a petition of former superintendent of Kashana Welfare Centre (for destitute girls) seeking a judicial inquiry into alleged misuse of the orphan girls by provincial ministers.

Afshan Latif, the suspended superintendent of Kashana, contended in her petition that the government victimized her for revealing the truth. She alleged that the DG pressurized her to marry off underage girls to high-ranking officials.

She alleged that treatment being meted out to the orphan girls at the state-run facility was a cruelty and needed a judicial inquiry to bring the responsible to book.

The petitioner claimed that she refused to fulfill illegal orders and immoral demands of the former director general of social welfare department Afshan Kiran and former provincial minister Ajmal Cheema. The petitioner Afshan had filed a complaint to her department against the director general of Kashana, Afshan Kiran.

She asked the court to order a judicial inquiry and hand over control of the Kashana to an independent individual till findings of the inquiry.