Seven accused who paraded girl naked granted bail

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A single-member bench of Peshawar High Court (PHC) granted bail to seven accused in the case of Sharifan Bibi, who had been allegedly paraded naked in the streets here in 2017. Justice Sahibzada Asadullah Khan granted bail to the seven accused in the case of Sharifan Bibi subject to the condition of presenting sureties of Rs150,000 each. The counsel Ghulam Muhammad Sappal appeared for the accused before the court. The accused were blamed for parading naked the 16-year old Sharifan Bibi in the streets of Garah Mat, a village of Chodhwan tehsil in Dera Ismail Khan district for her brother’s alleged crime. Eight of the nine nominated accused in the case had been arrested, but the main accused Sajawal remained at large initially. Later, the incident earned the attention of the media and human rights bodies, prompting Peshawar High Court to take suo moto notice of the case. The court directed the then Inspector General of Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to ensure that investigation is completed and report presented to it. Several months later, Sajawal finally surrendered to the police in Dera Ismail Khan.