The Supreme Court on Friday summoned Inspector-General Punjab on Monday and urged him to arrest the culprits involved in the stoning to death of a woman in Khanewal. Otherwise, the court warned, he would no longer remain in service. The order was given during the hearing of a suo motu case in this regard.
Berating the Punjab government and police, the court also observed that they all knew about the incident, but had so far not taken any action. Asking the Advocate-General of Punjab to inform the Chief Minister about the police's poor performance, the court also asked the Deputy Attorney-General of Pakistan to convey the details of the incident to quarters concerned. The court also sought a detailed report about the crime rate in Punjab.
A three-member bench, led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, heard the suo motu case of the killing of a woman on the directives of a punchayet (local council) in Khanewa two days ago (on Wednesday). A 25-year-old woman named Maryam Bibi was killed for cutting grass from the land belonging to a landlord in Khanewal. The landlord, Raja Mehbub, is said to have pressed her to have illicit relations with him.
The woman refused to follow the landlord's orders who ordered his men to "teach her a lesson". They went to her house and killed by hitting her on the head with stones. The landlord is also said to have abducted the woman's husband. Police have registered a case against nine accused for the murder of Maryam.
The court, while objecting to the investigation report, said that the report was based on mala fide intention, as it did not contain any mention of the punchayet. The chief justice warned that the police should arrest all culprits involved in the incident. Otherwise, the IG Punjab would be suspended. AG Punjab Ashtar Ausaf told the bench that Maryam Bibi mowed the grass from some area on which punchayet was called to settle the dispute. He also said that three accused had also been arrested. The court sought the record from the Inspector-General (IG) and District Police Officer (DPO) and adjourned the hearing till July 23.