Assault on woman ‘TikToker’: Maryam condemns incident, demands stern action

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president and former first daughter Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday after the Minar-e-Pakistan incident said that we as parents, teachers and leaders should change the mindset of the youth.

The PML-N vice president took to the twitter to condemn the incident and said, “Heart-wrenching scenes at Minar-e-Pakistan warrant collective introspection. We as parents, teachers & leaders need to reflect upon the upbringing of our youngsters to make public spaces safe for women”.

She demanded that those involved in the abominable act must be “dragged to justice to create deterrence for future”.

It is pertinent to mention here that the horrific incident of assaulting a female TikToker occurred on the occasion of Independence Day in Greater Iqbal Park of Lahore came to light through social media 3 days later.

The mob beat the female TikTok star and her companions and while the police remained unaware of the incident. The complainant filed with the police alleged that she, along with six companions, was shooting a video at Minar-e-Pakistan when hundreds of people attacked them. She also claimed that the people were pushing and pulling her to the extent that they ripped her clothes.

The FIR had been registered under sections 354 A (assault or use of criminal force against woman and stripping her of her clothes), 382 (theft after preparation made for causing death, hurt or restraint in order to commit the theft), 147 (rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The complainant said that her companions and she tried hard to escape the mob, but the “crowd was huge and people were scaling the enclosure and coming towards us”. She also said that some people tried to help her but the crowd was too large and kept tossing her up in the air. The girl said that her ring and earrings were “forcibly taken”, as was the mobile phone of one of her companions, his identity card, and some cash that he had on him.