The Pakistan police filed a case against 400 people in Lahore on Tuesday for allegedly assaulting a woman at a park on Independence Day, Dawn reported.
The incident took place when the woman, who makes TikTok videos, was filming a clip with her friends near the Minar-e-Pakistan monument on August 14.
“We were shooting the clip when a good number of youngsters started teasing me,” she told PTI. “They were joined by more and more. Seeing the suspects harassing me, the security guard of the Minar-e-Pakistan Park opened the central gate. When I crossed the gate and entered the park, the suspects came after me.”
The woman added that the accused tore her clothes and tossed her in the air. “They also beat my team members, and used abusive language,” she said.
The complainant alleged that in the chaos, her jewellery was also stolen, while her friend was robbed of a mobile phone and cash, according to Dawn.
Videos of the incident, widely circulated on social media, have triggered massive outrage in Pakistan.
Shariq Jamal Khan, deputy inspector general (investigation), told Geo News that experts were analysing the videos. “It is a technical process to ascertain who was doing what,” he said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke to the police and asked them to arrest the accused. Many other politicians and celebrities spoke out against the incident.
“Deeply disturbed at the harassment of a young woman & her companions by hundreds of people at Greater Iqbal Park in Lahore,” Shehbaz Sharif, the leader of Opposition in Pakistan’s National Assembly, tweeted. “What is more worrying is the direction our society is headed in. The recent anti-women incidents are a reminder that malaise is deep-rooted. Very Shameful!”
Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said: “The assault of a young women by a mob at Minar-e-Pakistan should shame every Pakistani. It speaks to a rot in our society. Those responsible must be brought to justice. The women of Pakistan feel insecure and it is all our responsibility to ensure safety and equal rights to all.”
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