Nomaika Mehak Case: Will Ashfaq Satti be held accountable for attempted murder?

All eyes are on the court in hopes that justice will be granted

Ashfaq Ishaq Satti, a well-known television anchor on ARY News, is currently being investigated after his 27-year-old wife, Nomaika Mehak, revealed that he had been physically abusing her and threatened to kill her.

Images shared on Nomaika’s Facebook post show severe bruises on her face and arm. Sources say that the entirety of her injuries — and the dark veracity of Satti’s barbarity trumping all bounds — has not been revealed to the public due to a sense of discomfort attached to sharing of sensitive details in a conservative society like ours.

Lawyer and political activist, Jibran Nasir, who has taken up Nomaika Mehak’s case, says that the exact details of the nature of injuries cannot be shared because it is “up to Nomaika to share if she so pleases”. However, he shared that 13 visible injuries have been noted in the Medical Examination otherwise, whereas X-ray and ultrasound results are pending.

Former anchorperson and entrepreneur Rabia Anum, who has been actively supporting Nomaika, shared on social media that Nomaika “continues to experience sleeplessness and intense pain”.

What’s Next?

According to Jibran Nasir, Ashfaq Satti has not been granted pre-arrest bail and is currently on an interim pre-arrest bail. His bail is set for February 12 for arguments when the judge will either confirm or dismiss the bail.

On the other hand, the police has received the preliminary medical examination report, and has conducted site inspection and recorded statements of Nomaika and her family.

“As a matter of principle, there should be no justification and no tolerance for violence against women. However, getting justice through courts is unfortunately a time-consuming and exhausting journey for any victim/survivor in this country. We will pursue the case to ensure a fair and transparent investigation and justice for our client,” states Nasir.

“The first medical examination conducted at Abbasi Shaheed was tainted with mala fide. The woman medico-legal officer (WMLO) did not even bother looking at the injuries and only wrote down injuries she saw on Nomaika’s face and that too weren’t properly examined. After we were engaged as counsel, we moved an application with the Police Surgeons Office and got a detailed and proper examination of all injuries. We are thankful to the Police Surgeon Dr. Summaiya for her effective and prompt response to our application as required by the law in such cases.”

Message to the Public

Talking to The Current, Rabia Anum asserts that the public demanding ‘two sides of the story’ need to understand that “there are never two sides of the story when there is domestic violence”.

“If a woman is crude or disrespectful, you have the choice to simply leave her. But you cannot ever kill her,” she adds. “Agar aurat buri hai tou uss se rishta khatam kerain, uss aurat ko nahin.”

Anam further iterates that according to Nomaika, Satti tried to kill her. He strangled her, he choked her, he covered her face with the pillow and threatened to kill her and hide her body away.

“The truth is that if people are given the actual details of the injuries, it will bring shivers down their spine,” added Rabia Anum.

Background

Ashfaq Ishaq Satti was lambasted on social media after his wife posted photos on Facebook depicting injuries on her face and body, allegedly inflicted on her by her husband. This also resulted in his suspension from ARY news where he has been a working as a tv anchor.

In her account, 27-year-old Nomaika Mehak writes that she was almost beaten “to death” by her husband Ashfaque Ishaque Satti who “repeatedly” threatened to kill her and then hide her body. The pictures she uploaded show the extent of violence inflicted, including extensive bruising and swelling.

After the post was publicly published, ARY news suspended News Anchor Ashfaque Ishaque Satti “with immediate effect till the law takes its course”.