A seven-year-old girl, Tayyaba, told in the court of Additional and Sessions Judge Ferozwala, Qamar Ijaz on August 26 that she had been raped by accused Zubair with the help of Talha, Muzamal and Muzaffar on March 11, 2008 in her village Sidhanwali, Tehsil Ferozwala, district Sheikhupura, Pakistan.
The girl told the judge that after raping her, the men had left her in critical condition and her mother had found her. Weak and frightened, the girl could not speak loudly so the judge called her near his seat where he recorded her statement in the presence of lawyers of both sides. Tayyaba pointed towards Zubair when the judge asked her to recognise the accused.
The judge has already recorded the statements of the girl’s mother and Dr. Nazia, who had conducted the victim’s medico-legal examination and confirmed that she had been raped.
Lawyers of Lahore High Court, Lahore Mian Saif Bashir, Anees AA Sadi, Muhammad Irfan Mukhtar and Muhammad Imran are voluntarily fighting the girl’s case.
The judged adjourned the case until August 30, when he would record the statements of more prosecution witnesses.
Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Zahid Hussain has taken suo moto notice of the case being prolonged after the girl’s mother had appealed to the authorities in this regard. The Lahore High Court CJ has ordered Judge Qamar Ijaz to conclude the trial as soon as possible.