ISLAMABAD: The recent spate of killings of women invoked the ire of the National Assembly on Thursday as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle derided the police department for their failure to properly prevent and investigate such cases.

While the country honoured police officers who laid down their lives in the line of duty on Police Martyrs Day, the atmosphere inside the house was far more charged, with women lawmakers coming down hard on law enforcement’s inability to charge suspects who were already in custody, leading to their eventual release.

The discussion began during Question Hour, on a question asked by Jamaat-i-Islami’s Aisha Syed, seeking details on the three cases of women being burned to death: Maria Sadaqat in Murree, Ambreen in Abbottabad and Nazia Hameed in Kasur.

“Even though the culprits are caught, no one is [punished or] executed... police is in cahoots with the culprits and are delaying the investigation,” she alleged when the matter was discussed on the floor of the house.

She also took issue with the ministry’s undue deference for the prime suspect in the Maria Sadaqat case. “The ministry has addressed the main accused as ‘janab Shaukat sahib’in their written response before the house. The ministry should consider whether an accused can be addressed in this way.”

PTI’s Lal Chand Malhi pointed out that police corruption and complicity was the leading cause of lawlessness in many parts of the country. “We see ads and special days extolling us to respect policemen, but when are we going to have awareness campaigns telling us to respect women,” he asked.

Minister for Human Rights Kamran Michael recalled that the anti-rape and anti-honour killing bills would soon be tabled before the house for approval, which would help to curb atrocities against women.

“[The ministry] has written to the inspectors general of all provinces and is going to hold special training workshops for police officers to teach them how to better deal with the public. Those who successfully complete the course will be awarded special certification,” Mr Michael told the house.

PML-N lawmaker Tahira Aurangzeb pointed out that in all three cases, suspects were in custody. However, the forensic report in Maria Sadaqat’s case is still awaited. “How long will we have to wait for that report,” she asked.

However, Mr Michael expressed his powerlessness to expedite the process, saying that all his ministry could do was remind other departments of their commitments and ask them to speed things up.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2016