LAHORE: A woman who last week shot to Internet fame after she called Prime Minister Imran Khan during a live Q&A session and complained about a tenant who had illegally occupied her house has called for a reform of the justice system in Pakistan, saying millions like her have no recourse.
Ayesha Mazhar, a single mother of a three-year-old from Quetta, called the PM on Sunday and said a tenant had refused to pay rent of up to half a million rupees or leave her house and was using his influence with the police to prolong her agony.
“The moment I ended my call with the prime minister, I was contacted by police officials who wanted to know my address and promised to resolve my case,” Mazhar told Arab News on Wednesday. “The next day I got the outstanding rental payments, and my problem was addressed.”
While she expressed gratitude to the government, she also called for institutional reforms.
“Do we always have to call the prime minister when we find ourselves in such situations?” Mazhar asked.
She said her mother had bought a house in Lahore’s DHA Rahbar Housing Society which she rented to a man named Imran Asghar in 2019 who turned out to be the brother of a senior superintendent of police and after a point refused to pay rent or vacate her house despite repeated requests. The tenant also got a stay order from a court which “allowed him to occupy the house for an indefinite period,” Mazhar said.
“I wonder how a court can allow a person to do that and turn the real owner of a house homeless,” Mazhar, who moved to Lahore from Quetta, said.
She said she could not move into her own house in Lahore after moving there from another city : “I am a divorcee with a 3-year-old son. Can you imagine what it must be like for a woman to travel to a new city with no shelter?”
Mazhar said that she had lodged a complaint with police but was totally “devastated” when the tenant used abusive language against her at a police station and no officials intervened.
“The situation took its toll on my mother’s health who was diagnosed with cancer,” she said. “I took my mother to see several parliamentarians and even visited media houses, but no one came to our rescue.”
Mazhar applauded Lahore’s former Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umer Sheikh who got her house vacated last December before being transferred. The tenant, however, still refused to pay the rent that had piled up in the last two years and amounted to around Rs.500,000.
Asked about Mazhar’s case, the city’s new CCPO Mehmood Dogar agreed that it was mishandled.
“It was a simple case,” he said. “Her house was illegally occupied, and the tenant was not vacating the premises. However, it became tricky due to the legal technicalities since both parties had filed their cases in the court and we were bound by its orders.”
He added that the police had launched an operation against illegal occupants since the beginning of the year and restored the possession of more than 350 plots.
Police spokesperson in Lahore, Muhammad Arif, said more than 100,000 such cases were reported every year and resolved in accordance with law.
“This was one case where things grew ugly and the victim had to suffer at the hands of our system,” he said, adding that the CCPO had asked all police stations to deal with such cases on priority.
Meanwhile, Mazhar said she hoped the prime minister would do his best to reform the police and judiciary and provide some respite to “millions of people who are suffering and desperately waiting for justice.”
Pakistani woman whose live call to PM went viral demands justice system reform
https://arab.news/nu8bu
Pakistani woman whose live call to PM went viral demands justice system reform
- During Q&A with PM, Ayesha Mazhar complained about a man who had illegally occupied her house, says her problem was addressed within hours
- Mazhar says police and judiciary must be reformed in Pakistan so millions like her who are desperate for justice can get some respite
Pakistan beefs up security in Karachi, Islamabad and Skardu as Khamenei protests kill 24
- At least 14 killed in northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, 10 in Karachi during Sunday’s clashes between protesters, law enforcers
- Police close off roads leading to key government buildings in Islamabad, US consulate in Karachi with army deployed in Skardu
ISLAMABAD/GILGIT: Authorities beefed up security by deploying additional police contingents and sealing off most roads leading to government buildings in Islamabad, Karachi and Skardu on Monday after violent protests in the aftermath of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s killing led to the deaths of at least 24 people in Pakistan.
At least 10 people were killed and 73 others sustained injuries on Sunday in clashes with law enforcement outside the US consulate in Karachi. Hundreds of protesters had gathered outside the consulate, with videos showing angry crowds armed with sticks as they smashed doors and windows.
In Islamabad, protesters entered the Red Zone which houses key government and diplomatic offices in the capital, prompting authorities to fire tear gas to disperse them. Similarly, people gathered outside the press club in the northwestern city of Peshawar to protest Khamenei’s killing as well.
Skardu in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region saw violent clashes on Sunday as well, as protesters set fire to and vandalized several buildings, including United Nations (UN) regional offices. Clashes with law enforcers caused the deaths of at least 14 people in the region, among them a soldier, a senior official told Arab News.
“Seven protesters were killed in Gilgit and seven in Skardu,” GB Caretaker Information Minister Ghulam Abbas confirmed. “One was soldier martyred in Skardu while the injured there were around 50.”
The minister said the station house officer and deputy superintendent of police in Skardu were also injured, along with two soldiers, while 10 properties were damaged in the clashes. He said police have registered complaints against the culprits for the violence.
“Schools are closed on Monday and courts’ activities will also be closed,” Abbas said. “A curfew has also been imposed for three days initially in Skardu and Gilgit cities from Mar. 2 to Mar. 4.”
The flare-up also prompted authorities to call in the army in Skardu under Article 245 of the Pakistani constitution, state media reported on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Islamabad Traffic Police said entry into the Red Zone area will remain open for people only through the Margalla Road and another route through Marriott Hotel.
“All other entry points leading toward the Red Zone will remain closed,” it said in its advisory.
A spokesperson for the Karachi Traffic Police said in a press release that the MT Khan Road, from PIDC road to the Mai Kolachi Road railway crossing, will remain closed on Monday for general traffic due to security reasons.
The US consulate, which was the scene of clashes between protesters and police, is located on Mai Kolachi Road near MT Khan and PIDC.
“The general public is requested to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and traffic police to avoid inconvenience and difficulties,” the Karachi Traffic Police spokesperson said.
MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS
The violence on Sunday came hours after Iranian authorities confirmed Khamenei was killed in coordinated strikes carried out by the US and Israel, dramatically escalating tensions in the Middle East and triggering protests in several countries.
According to US officials, the operation targeted Revolutionary Guard command facilities, air defense systems, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields. The US military said it suffered no casualties and reported minimal damage to its bases despite what it described as “hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks.”
Iran retaliated by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and targeting US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. The Emirati government said its air defense systems intercepted dozens of Iranian missiles and drones, but debris from the interceptions caused material damage in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and at least one civilian, a Pakistani national, was killed. It issued rare emergency alerts urging residents to seek shelter, underscoring how the conflict has rippled far beyond Iran’s borders.
The Israeli military said dozens of Iranian missiles were fired toward Israeli territory, many of which were intercepted. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said a woman in the Tel Aviv area died after being wounded in a missile strike.
