The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Human Rights has ordered a fresh investigation into the Ayat Noor case by a new police team.
Ayat Noor was a young girl from Haripur who was reportedly subjected to sexual violence and then killed. The case has raised serious concerns about the police investigation and the way the case was handled.
The committee was given a briefing on the case by Member of the National Assembly Babar Nawaz. During the briefing, concerns were raised about serious mistakes and possible negligence by the police.
Babar Nawaz said that Ayat Noor’s parents had faced difficulties in the first two days after their daughter went missing. According to him, the parents had to spend those days trying to prove to the police that they were husband and wife.
He also said that a female Deputy Superintendent of Police in Haripur allegedly told Ayat Noor’s mother that she had killed her own daughter. Babar Nawaz further claimed that police forced Ayat Noor’s father to give a statement under Section 164.
The lawmaker said that the police only began taking the case more seriously after people held protests demanding the recovery of the missing girl.
According to the briefing, Ayat Noor’s body was recovered on the 15th day. The report reportedly suggested that the body had been dead for around seven days.
Babar Nawaz raised an important question about this information. He said that if the report was correct, it could mean that the child may have remained alive inside a well for several days before she died.
After the body was found, the governor and chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reportedly reached the area quickly.
Babar Nawaz also said that three children were arrested 15 days after the girl went missing. He questioned how these three suspects were identified and nominated in the case.
He particularly questioned the statement of an 11-year-old child who reportedly took Ayat Noor out of the house. Babar Nawaz asked when and how the child had said that there were three boys and that the girl was handed over to them.
The lawmaker also criticized the fact that the same police officers who allegedly failed to properly investigate the case were still involved in the investigation.
He told the committee that the police report prepared so far was not satisfactory and should not be accepted without a proper review.
Babar Nawaz also questioned the police claim that suspects were arrested with the help of geofencing technology. He said that none of the children involved had mobile phones, raising questions about how geofencing was used to identify them.
The committee expressed concern over the investigation and called for the case to be examined by a new team.
Committee member Shamsher Ali Mazari said that the alleged negligence by the police must also be investigated fully.
The committee’s decision means that the investigation will now be reviewed again by a new team rather than being handled by the officers who were involved in the earlier inquiry.
The Ayat Noor case has raised questions about police performance, the protection of children and the treatment of families whose children go missing.
The committee’s action also shows that lawmakers want answers about what happened during the investigation and why the case was not handled more seriously at the beginning.
A fresh investigation could help establish what happened to Ayat Noor, how she died, who was responsible and whether there were failures in the police response.
The committee also appears concerned about the involvement of children in the case and whether the suspects were identified through proper evidence and legal procedures.
The allegations made during the briefing are serious, but they remain claims that must be properly investigated and verified by the relevant authorities.
The new investigation team will now have to examine the available evidence, previous police reports, witness statements and other details of the case.
The main demand from the committee is that the investigation should be fair, independent and based on evidence. It also wants the alleged police negligence to be examined separately.
The case has attracted attention because it involves a young child and serious questions about the police investigation. The committee’s decision to order a fresh probe is aimed at finding the truth and ensuring that those responsible, if proven guilty, are held accountable.
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