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Friday, March 15, 2024

Shahid Masood summoned by SC after revealing Zainab culprit has foreign bank accounts

News Analysis |

Senior anchorperson Dr. Shahid Masood was summoned by the Supreme Court on Thursday to clarify the allegations made by him against the Punjab government. Dr. Masood on his talk show ‘Live with Dr. Shahid Masood’ on channel NewsOne revealed that the suspected rapist and murderer in Zainab’s case was a member of a child pornography gang. He also revealed that the gang was being facilitated by a Punjab Minister.

Masood and Punjab’s additional Advocate General Asma Hamid were both present in the hearing on Thursday. The Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar asked Dr. Masood to clarify his allegations and give details to the court. Masood alleged that the main suspect, Imran, was a part of a child pornography ring and he had 37 foreign bank accounts. He also revealed that the gang was being facilitated by a senior Punjab minister and another high-up.

The lack of police action and acquittal of all but two suspects in the Kasur child porn scandal puts a big question mark on the justice system and the whole nation. 

The CJP asked Masood to write down the names of the minister and the high-up whom Masood believes to be behind the scandal, and also give details of Imran’s foreign accounts. Masood wrote down the names of the alleged facilitators and provided details of the foreign accounts. The CJP warned Masood with dire consequences if the allegations turn out to be false.

The advocate general Asma Hamid told the court that the Chief Minister of Punjab had already constituted a six-member team to look into Masood’s allegations. Masood also feared for the life of the suspect and told the court to provide for his security because the facilitators will try to silence him. The CJP ordered the Inspector General Punjab to ensure full proof security of the culprit until the matter is resolved.

Read more: Zainab atrocity brings to light other rape cases in the country

A child sexual abuse scandal surfaced in Kasur in 2015 that shook the nation to its core. 400 pornography video clips of more than 280 children were discovered from a pornography ring in Kasur. A gang of 25 men were involved in making those videos from 2006 to 2014. The pornography ring exposed the apathy and negligence of law enforcement agencies. The gang used to abduct children in Kasur and forced them to perform sexual acts. They later sold those videos to pornographic websites and also blackmailed the parents of the children with those videos, and extorted money from them.

Human rights activists are saying that either the government is unwilling to act or they are part of the groups that are exploiting our children. A number of social media activists have pointed their fingers at PML-N leaders and accused them of being part of the child porn ring gang.

3 years have passed since that horrifying incident came to light but only 2 people were convicted out of the alleged 25 or more gang members. Human rights activists blame the police and an influential family of Kasur for protecting the culprits. Legal experts pointed out the loopholes in the laws that protect the culprits from any punishment. The issue was lost from the limelight as soon as it arrived. Human right activists blame it on the apathy of the government and the general public that such a grave issue was not followed till the end.

Read more: Is a DNA test enough to convict the culprit in Zainab’s…

Media experts believe that the members of the Kasur child pornography ring are still operating within Kasur, and the presence of such monsters within society is a threat to the life of all children in the area. Dr. Masood’s allegation also points towards the same direction. If the culprit turns out to be a member of a pornography ring, it will take away the credibility of the whole Punjab government that failed to capture the culprit earlier even after the appalling tragedy of the Kasur porn ring from 2015.  

The advocate general Asma Hamid told the court that the Chief Minister of Punjab had already constituted a six-member team to look into Masood’s allegations.

Human rights activists are saying that either the government is unwilling to act or they are part of the groups that are exploiting our children. A number of social media activists have pointed their fingers at PML-N leaders and accused them of being part of the child porn ring gang. The activists are certain that such a huge scale operation of child pornography couldn’t have taken place without the backing of a powerful patron.

Read more: Zainab culprit to be produced before Anti-Terrorism Court today

Some political experts believe that it is too early to point fingers without any tangible evidence but they agree that the developments in Kasur are highly suspicious. The lack of police action and acquittal of all but two suspects in the Kasur child porn scandal puts a big question mark on the justice system and the whole nation.