Kidnapped brothel owner freed

2007-03-29 18:52

Islamabad - Female students at an Islamic school in the Pakistani capital freed an alleged brothel owner on Thursday after the woman donned a burqa and promised to shun "immoral acts".

The students at the madrassa in Islamabad had kidnapped the woman, identified only as Shamim, along with her daughter and a daughter-in-law on Tuesday, sparking a standoff with the government.

Clad in an identical black burqa to the ones worn by the students, the woman was brought before the media at the Jamia Hafsa school and read out a confession.

"I seek forgiveness for the sins that I have committed and declare I will live like a true Muslim and preacher of religion," said Shamim in the signed statement.

"I do confess getting involved in certain acts, which are considered moral crimes, with my house being misused for the purpose," she said.

She denied that she had been forced to sign the statement.

Kidnap 'sparked tensions'

But she said there were "several men, who tied and tortured me before I arrived here. But the attitude of the female students was exemplary."

The kidnap sparked tensions in Islamabad when police arrested two female teachers from the school on Wednesday.

Baton-wielding students then abducted two passing policemen.

The police officers and the teachers were freed late on Wednesday.

But the three women kidnapped from the "vice den" were held overnight and were only freed after a marathon meeting of mullahs, said Abdul Rashid Ghazi, vice-principal of the seminary.

Earlier Ghazi had said that Shamim and her relatives would not be freed unless police charge them as criminals.

Government's willingness 'questioned'

The police said they could not lodge a case against the women without any evidence.

Officials were not immediately available for comment on their release.

The case has raised questions about the Pakistani government's willingness to tackle the hardline school in the centre of the capital, following a series of incidents.

In January female students from the school staged a sit-in at a nearby government-run children's library in protest at official plans to demolish a mosque in the capital.

- AFP