Kashana scandal whistleblower mysteriously found dead

LAHORE: An orphan girl, Iqra Kainat, has found dead in mysterious circumstances from Edhi Centre who is said to be sole witness of Kashana [government’s shelter house, Dar-ul-Aman] scandal.

Police said Iqra Kainat was mysteriously found dead at Edhi Centre on February 6 as she was taken to the centre in December last year by Baghban police when she committed suicide by drinking acid.

Police officials said the post-mortem of Ms Kainat was completed, however, the result was not disclosed so far.

Former superintendent of Lahore Dar-ul-Aman’s (Kashana) Afshan Latif raised serious concerns over her sudden death. She said her death creates suspicions as she was the only girl who was fully aware of the hidden secrets different welfare organisations.

Ms Latif revealed that Iqra Kainat had been taken away from her residence two months after the emergence of Kashana scandal and on December 16, she had been sent to child protection bureau. She added that Kainat’s record was deleted a day before sending her to the protection bureau. Kainat grew up in different welfare organisations since her childhood, said Latif.

Read: Dar-ul-Aman official alleges underage marriages of orphan girls, gets ‘arrested’

“In 2015, she was shifted to Dar-ul-Aman from the Child Protection Bureau and later in 2016, she was sent to Kashana [shelter house]. I had arranged by myself her marriage with a man named Abid. Her sudden death causes suspicions as she is the only girl who knows the secrets of welfare institutions.”

Ms Latif appealed the government to open an investigation into Ms Kainat’s death.

Earlier in November last year, Afshan Latif had alleged in a video statement that underage girls dwelling in the shelter home are forced into marriages by Director General Social Welfare Afshan Kiran Imtiaz.

In the video posted on Twitter, she claimed the director general, who wanted to curry favour with a provincial minister and high-ups, was putting pressure on orphan girls, including those who aged between 16 and 17 years, to enter underage marriages.

Ms Latif said the girls are being misused in the name of food and shelter.

She claimed she was removed from her post after she approached the Chief Minister’s Inspection Team (CMIT) with a request for an inquiry into the matter. She had appealed the chief justice and the prime minister to take notice of the alleged misuse of orphan girls living in shelters.