Judicial probe sought into alleged torture on professor

PESHAWAR: The Citizens Rights Movement, a conglomerate of different rights-based organizations, on Monday staged a protest against the alleged torture on an associate professor at the Gulbahar Police Station and demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

The members of the rights-based bodies, including those from the Peace Foundation, Pakistan Writers Guild, Bazm-e-Bahar-e-Adab and others gathered at the Peshawar Press Club to voice anger at the alleged torture by the Gulbahar Police on Associate Professor Malik Arshad Hussain, a professor of English at the Government College of Management Sciences, Peshawar, and alleged maltreatment of his wife, Munazza Arshad, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf active worker and her sister.

They were carrying banners and placards which criticizing the attitude of the Gulbahar Police towards citizens, demanded immediate suspension of the Station House Officer Wajid Shah and a judicial probe into the incident.

The speakers, including students, said Malik Arshad Hussain had accompanied his wife to the Gulbahar Police Station who wanted to get a first information report registered against the alleged threats.

The speakers alleged that the SHO not only refused to entertain her request but allegedly put husband of Munazza Arshad, who is a respectable citizen, poet, writer and author of several books and allegedly tortured him.

They said the people had voted Imran Khan into power with the hope that he would bring about a real change in governance but, unfortunately, that was not being done and all this was creating bad feelings for the government. The speakers requested the Human Rights Directorate of the Peshawar High Court and KP Ombudsperson office to take notice of the incident.