DERA GHAZI KHAN, March 8: The counsel for the accused with Meerwala gang-rape case said here on Tuesday that representatives of non-government organizations and the government should not exert pressure on court for setting aside the acquittal of five of the six accused by a division bench of the Lahore high court.

The accused had been sentenced to death for raping Mukhtar Mai of Meerwala. Speaking at a press conference, he said court always remained impartial and free in giving its verdict.

The counsel, Malik Saleem advocate, said it was not a case of gang-rape and because of this reason the Multan division bench of the LHC had commuted the death sentence of main accused Abdul Khaliq and acquitted five other accused for want of evidence.

He maintained that earlier Dera Ghazi Khan anti-terrorism court had tried 14 people accused in the FIR and gave death sentence to six. He said the counsel for the victim could not prove the gang-rape. He further maintained that court had asked the Mukhtar Mai's counsel to prove by the chargesheet that rape was conducted on the directive of panchayat, but he failed to do so.

The case, according to Mr Malik, had gained undue attention of national and international media. He said NGOs got a lot of benefit by playing up the scandal. He said last year as many as 540 women were molested or raped, 24 burnt by acid, 634 abducted and 115 were killed on one pretext or the other in southern Punjab, but not a single case got as much projection as the one got by Mukhtar Mai's.

UC NAIB NAZIM: The Rakh Fazilpur union council Naib Nazim has accused a local chieftain of harbouring criminals, who were involved in kidnapping him for ransom to exact revenge for quitting the clan. At a press conference here, Rana Farhat Shabbir levelled charges against the chief of an influential tribe of harbouring Faiz Rasool Korai and Shahid Rasool Korai who, he said, were involved in his kidnap for ransom last month.

He said he was set free by the kidnapper after 15 days when he paid Rs1 million ransom. He quoted the kidnappers as informing him during captivity that he was being punished for opposing Faiz Rasool and the entire tribe.

He said police registered a case of kidnap against Faiz and Shahid, but could not arrest them for the influence they enjoy under the umbrella of the known tribe. When contacted, the tribal chief declined to comment.

However, Rajanpur District Naib Nazim Mirza Ubaidullah, who also belongs to the tribe, told Dawn that the kidnapping incident had been concocted to defame the tribe. It was a part of political rivalry between tribal leaders.