Village head ‘sanctioned rape of teen’

The head of a village council in central Pakistan has been arrested for allegedly sanctioning the rape of a teenage girl.

A police spokeswoman said Saeed Patwari was arrested yesterday in a village near the city of Multan.

She said officers have arrested 24 men who attended a 18 July meeting in which Patwari allegedly gave Mohammad Ashfaq permission to rape a 17-year-old girl to avenge the rape of his sister by another man, Omar Wadda.

Police are still searching for Ashfaq but Wadda has been detained and charged with raping Ashfaq’s sister.