Pakistan: Motorway gang rape victim to record statement, identify suspects

Islamabad: Some 21 days after the gang rape incident along the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway, the victim, a 30-year Pakistani woman has agreed to record her statement on camera.

She has also agreed to identify one of the suspects, Shafqat Ali, who was arrested from Depalpur, Okara in Punjab.

However, since the dreadful night of September 9, when the incident took place at an unmanned section of the Lahore-Sialkot motorway., Punjab police have failed in arresting the main suspect, Abid Ali while insisting his arrest is a matter of day.

According to police, 26 teams of various law enforcement agencies are in the field for his arrest. The police sources said that raids are being conducted in Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Sahiwal and Nankana Sahib to arrest Abid.

Besides, five relatives of the main suspect, including his wife, are in police custody for investigation.

Meanwhile, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) of Lahore Umar Sheikh has once again earned public condemnation by giving another controversial statement before the Senate of Pakistan’s Human Rights (HR) committee that the gang rape victim was travelling late at night without her husband’s permission.

When the committee members asked him if the victim had said so in her statement, Sheikh said it was his assumption.

The lawmakers were furious to listen to his reply and reprimanded him for passing a sweeping statement in a matter that has shocked the entire country.

“Earlier, too, you have been blaming the victim and on your part have done nothing to provide security on that route”, they said. Seeing the senators’ mood, the police officer hurriedly apologized for giving his personal opinion.

This was not the first time he has done so. Earlier, Sheikh had expressed his “wonder” as to what had compelled the rape victim to leave for Gujranwala in the middle of night with three children and without checking petrolin her car.

At that time too after public outcry he apologized to the people of Pakistan and the victim for his statement.

On September 9, two armed men had allegedly gang-raped a woman in front of her children after her car broke down on the Lahore-Motorway section due to fuel shortage. The robbers fled after the assault taking away her money and other valuables.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has rejected the petitions including that of CCPO Sheikh for not being considered by the central selection board (CSB) for promotion to grade-21. Sheikh had challenged civil servant promotion rules-2019.

A two member bench of IHC presided over by the Chief Justice (CJ) IHC Athar Minallah maintained the civil servant promotion rules-2019 were framed in the correct way. The recommendations by the central selection board about promotion are neutral and unbiased.