Soon after ARY News suspended TV anchor Ashfaq Ishaq Satti over allegations of domestic abuse levelled by his second wife, Karachi police booked him for “severely beating his wife”.
According to the police, the case was registered on the complaint of Satti’s second wife Nomaika Tahir Mehmood.
Satti beat his wife over “suspicion about her character”, police said, adding that he fled following the registration of a first information report (FIR) against him, and efforts were underway to arrest him.
In a related development, police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said Nomaika was initially examined on January 24 at the medico-legal section of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. “Today, she was re-examined at her own request at the medico-legal section of Civil Hospital Karachi,” said the police surgeon.
“All injuries have been duly noted and she has been advised relevant investigations as well as referred to consultant experts for opinion,” Dr Summaiya said, adding that a complete and thorough examination was done.
She said that the injuries sustained by the victim had not been disclosed till reports and expert opinions were obtained.
https://twitter.com/NomaikaAshfaq/status/1751681182855745988
In a post on social media platform X on Monday, ARY News said its management had taken serious notice of the allegations of domestic violence against Satti. “He is hereby suspended with immediate effect till the law takes its course and decides the matter,” the news channel stated.
It added that ARY had a “zero tolerance policy” on violence or threats of violence, whether it was at the workplace or anywhere else.
According to the FIR, the complainant said that she was a housewife and had gone to meet her diabetic mother at Jinnah Garden, Model Colony on 19 January. She stayed at her mother’s house till January 22 due to health concerns.
Nomaika said her husband quarrelled with her over “baseless allegations” regarding her whereabouts and started beating her, which resulted in serious injuries to her left eye.
The suspect also dragged her from her hair and rammed her head into a wall, the FIR stated, adding that there were visible torture marks on the victim’s body. She also suffered wounds on her tongue, lips and other parts of the body.
The complainant said her husband “forcibly” took away her son, locked her in the room and threatened her with dire consequences. He also put a pillow on her mouth, attempted to strangulate her, and gave her death threats.
The victim said she managed to escape from her husband’s house on January 24 when her husband forgot to lock the door and subsequently reached her mother’s house. She demanded legal action against her husband.
The FIR invokes sections 324 (attempt to murder), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 337-A (i) (punishment for doing an act with the intention of thereby causing hurt to any person or with the knowledge that he is likely thereby to cause hurt to any person) and 337-F (i) (punishment for ghayr-jaifah whoever by doing any act with the intention of causing hurt to any person cause damihah) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
