ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Human Rights has raised serious concerns over police investigations into the murder of Hina Javed and the rape and murder of seven-year-old Ayat Noor in Haripur, directing authorities to complete both cases on a priority basis.
The committee meeting was chaired by Syedah Nosheen Iftikhar, where police officials briefed lawmakers on the progress of the investigations.
During the briefing on the Hina Javed murder case, the City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi said initial evidence had established that the incident was neither a robbery nor a suicide but a murder. He said investigators had used scientific methods and collected 80 pieces of evidence from the crime scene.
The CPO said investigators were awaiting reports from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency. When committee members questioned why Hina Javed’s father-in-law had not been arrested, the officer said he had been kept in custody for three days. He added that details of the investigation could not currently be disclosed.
The committee also examined the case of Ayat Noor, who was allegedly raped and murdered in Haripur.
Committee member Babar Nawaz expressed dissatisfaction with the police investigation, saying there were concerns over the involvement of five suspects. He questioned why only four had been arrested if five people were allegedly involved.
The District Police Officer Hazara told the committee that the child who allegedly called Ayat Noor out of her home was 12 and a half years old, while all four suspects nominated in the case were also minors.
Police officials said footage from around 200 cameras had been reviewed, of which recordings from only 25 cameras were considered useful to the investigation.
Committee member Zeb Jaffar questioned the two-day delay in registering the First Information Report (FIR), while Sehar Kamran asked whether the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act had been applied in Ayat Noor’s case.
Expressing concern over child safety, committee chairperson Syedah Nosheen Iftikhar said children were not safe and called for greater attention to the Safe City project, suggesting that Rs30 million to Rs35 million be allocated for the initiative.
The committee directed authorities to prioritize the investigations and address the concerns raised by its members.