For 10 long months, three young girls were tortured by their father
NAZIA Hasan, 14, returned home to Glasgow in the first week of April, after 10 months of sexual and physical abuse in Pakistan. She tells a chilling story of abduction, rape, beatings and, above all, betrayal. For the villain of the tale is none other than Nazia's father, Abdul Haq, a rich landlord based in Pakistan. "I will never trust anyone again," she says bitterly.
For Nazia, her two sisters and mother, a routine visit to Pakistan turning into a bizarre nightmare on their arrival at Multan airport. Haq suddenly appeared with a band of goons and whisked them away to his home in Jahania village. The scholarly Rifat, 20, was married off to an illiterate man. Nazia, then 13, was handed over to a 40-year-old cousin, Mohammad Iqbal, who drugged and brutalised her. Somera, 9, was isolated from her family and told they would be killed unless she behaved herself. Their mother, Fatima, was repeatedly beaten for daring to protest. For 10 months, her relatives and son Nadeem—who had stayed behind in Glasgow—couldn't persuade the Pakistan and Commonwealth authorities to extend help.
However, in the nick of time—when little Somera's engagement was being planned—the family was miraculously rescued by Glasgow-based millionaire-politician Mohammad Sarwar. "No one else could have done it. The fact that he knew Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto helped," commented family friend Nawaz Chaudhry. The girls hold dual citizenship—British and Pakistani—and the marriage of a girl under 16 is an offence under the laws of both countries. But when MP Maria Fife wrote to the Commonwealth Foreign Office for help, she was curtly told that such cases were "unfortunately not uncommon".
Bhutto has ordered an inquiry into the incident. The Glasgow police are planning legal action against Haq and his eldest son and accomplice, Zulfikar Ali. Nazia's 'husband', Iqbal, may be charged with statutory rape. Sarwar, a councillor, has been lionised by his Scottish constituents and the local press. But the Asian community here is deeply divided over the issue. One faction has severely criticised Sarwar for interfering in a "family affair".
"I guess they are afraid this incident will set a precedent. The girls who are taken to Pakistan to be married off will refuse to toe the line," says Sarwar wryly. In fact, days after the Haqs returned, a young girl being sent off to be married in Pakistan appealed to immigration authorities at Manchester airport and was allowed to stay on.
Meanwhile, a traumatised Nazia simply wants to go back to her school, Hill-head High, and bury the memories of those macabre months. "He (Iqbal) used to tie her up and rape her. Often she was beaten for no reason at all. Dad would watch her being battered," said Rifat.
Rifat's own story took a weird twist in November last year. "I was forcibly married to Khalid although I was engaged to another man. I wasn't allowed to see my mother or sisters. Nazia had tried to commit suicide. I also became suicidal and started slashing my arms. Khalid couldn't help but he tried to comfort me and I started to like him," she recalls. Against all odds, the illiterate rustic and the Glasgow-educated student of bio-sciences fell in love. She now wants him to join her in Scotland.
Somera is perhaps the most traumatised of the three. Relatives say she told them that Haq had threatened to kill her mother. She was dragged to a graveyard and told that her family would wind up there. "She's going to have to see a doctor," says Rifat.
While Nadeem is grateful to Sarwar for rescuing his sisters, relatives charge the councillor with making political capital out of the issue. They claim that although he knew of the Haqs' plight, he acted only when a reporter approached him, after having met the sisters in Pakistan. But once activated, Sarwar pulled out all stops. He got in touch with his contacts in Pakistan, who rescued the girls and provided armed protection until he arrived. His biggest problem was getting fresh passports for the four, since Haq had confiscated all their papers. It wasn't until they were aboard the plane that the girls realised they were free. "I will go back to Pakistan some day. But only after my father is dead," says Rifat.바카라 웹사이트