A Lahore district and sessions court has granted a three-day extension to the physical remand of cleric Abubakar Muaviya in a child abuse case.
Earlier in the week, Lahore police secured a four-day physical remand of the cleric in connection with a child rape case filed at the Shahdara police station. An official reported that the suspect was apprehended while in the act of raping a minor boy and was taken into custody at the scene.
The initial report cited charges under Section 376 (iii) (rape of a minor) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Today, Lahore police brought the suspect before Judicial Magistrate Habiba Sarfraz, requesting an extension of his physical remand.
The cleric’s lawyer emphasized that the police should expedite their investigation and ensure their perspective is included in the probe.
Following arguments, the court reserved its decision and later extended the cleric’s physical remand by three days. Additionally, the court demanded a report from the investigation officer at the next hearing.
A few weeks earlier, Muaviya faced arrest in a case lodged in Tandlianwala, Faisalabad, on charges of child rape. However, he was subsequently released from the case by a magistrate after the victim’s father stated that the First Information Report (FIR) was filed due to misunderstandings.
In a widely circulated video on social media, the father expressed forgiveness towards Muaviya in the name of God, following mediation by a prominent cleric who visited their home.
Subsequently, a high-level police inquiry labelled Muaviya’s acquittal through ‘Jirga/Panchayat’ mediation a clear violation of a previous Supreme Court judgement.
The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in January 2019 challenged the legal status of ‘councils of elders’, ‘Panchayats’, or ‘kangaroo courts’ operating as alternatives to the formal judicial system or for mediation in tribal areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and rural regions of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan.