THE family of a nine-month-old baby have been forced into hiding, after their young child was charged with attempted murder by Pakistani police.
One officer has been suspended and an official inquiry has been launched in the wake of the farcical case that saw nine-month-old Musa Khan fingerprinted in a police station for his supposed involvement in a riot in one of Lahore's slums.
The child's grandfather said that the family had moved to protect themselves from the intense pressure they had been subjected to by local police. "We have had to move to a secret place because we are poor and the police are putting huge pressure on us to manipulate the case," Muhammad Yasin said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
When forced to make an appearance in court, Musa sat on his grandfather's lap and had to be comforted with a bottle of milk.
The episode has "shone an embarrassing light on Pakistan's shambolic criminal justice system," The Guardian says, in which underpaid and ill-trained police can often lay false charges due to either corruption or individual incompetence.
According to a report filed by police, Musa was one of a number of people who tried to kill gas company workers as they attempted to disconnect houses who had not paid their gas bills. People living in the area, including Musa, were reported to have thrown stones at the gas company staff and the policemen accompanying them.
Locals insisted that the protest was peaceful. "There were only women in the houses at daytime and they resisted this discontinuing of supply," Yasin said. "Later we blocked the road and raised slogans against police."
Analysts say that the practice of charging entire families is sometimes used as a form of collective punishment. The judge presiding over the case granted Musa bail and ordered police to explain why they had brought the charges.
Shahbaz Sharif, chief minister of Pakistan's Punjab province, ordered an immediate inquiry into the case.
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
China looms large over India and Pakistan's latest violenceIN THE SPOTLIGHT Beijing may not have had troops on the ground, but as South Asia's two nuclear powers bared their teeth over Kashmir, China eyed an opportunity
-
Kashmir: India and Pakistan's conflict explainedThe Explainer Tensions at boiling point in the disputed region after India launched retaliatory air strikes on its neighbour
