Rawalpindi: Flesh trade goes unchecked along Murree Road

[Naveed Yaseen]

Khalid Iqbal
Slowly and steadily, Murree Road, especially its section between Moti Mehal and Mareer Chowk, is turning into a hot spot for flesh trade as girls and women, belonging to gypsy families, are seen negotiating with their ‘clients’ openly without any fear.

Throughout the day, especially just before sunset, men of all ages, who come to the ‘spot’ in cars, taxicabs and sometimes on foot, are seen negotiating about the amount of money they would be charged with these girls and women posing as beggars.

Sometimes young ‘customers’ fight over these women and girls. On Tuesday night, two groups of young men clashed with each other under Mareer Bridge as they both wanted to book a particular girl.

SP Headquarters Syed Ashfaq Anwar, when contacted by ‘The News,’ admitted the fact and said that police took action against such ‘professional’ women, but unfortunately they somehow got bails from courts and started their ‘business’ again. “It is a sensitive issue. It is destroying our young generation. The civil society and NGOs must cooperate with police in checking this activity,” he said.

He said that police would continue action against such women. He warned that if any police official was found involved in protecting prostitutes, action will be taken against them.

He said that there should be proper institutions for the rehabilitation of prostitutes.

‘The News’ learnt that more than 100 ‘bastis’ are present in the city in which more than 20,000 professional beggar families are living. The oldest beggar ‘basti’ is situated along railway lines near Mareer Chowk in which more than 300 families are settled for years. All family members, including men, women and children, are professional beggars. The majority of women living in this slum are involved in prostitution.

These women used to do ‘business’ secretly, but now they could be seen fixing rates with their ‘customers’ in the open without any fear along Murree Road, particularly between Moti Mehal and Mareer Chowk. Young girls, with the backing of their mothers and other family members, bring clients to their huts or go with them.

Beggars have set up ‘bastis’ in different localities of the city, including Mareer Hassan, Dhoke Mangtal, Pirwadhai, Rehmatabad, Raheemabad, Misrial Road, Dhoke Ratta, Nadeem Colony, Tench Bhatta, Dhoke Syedan and along Tipu Road, Railway Road and Adiala Road.

A curtain businessman near Mareer Chowk, Sheikh Muhammad Saleem, complained that all shopkeepers in the market were facing difficulties due to prostitutes. “Our business is greatly affected because of the presence of prostitutes,” he said.

Mehboob Alam, another shopkeeper, said that young men in luxury cars come to the spot to lift ‘professional’ women every day, but no action is taken against them by the concerned authorities.

Wajid Hussain, a second-year student, said that two beggar girls deprived him of Rs400 after threatening him that they would blame him for teasing them and hand him over to police.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=192883