LAHORE: Dismissing rumours circulating on social media regarding the alleged on-campus rape of a student in a private college in Lahore, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif termed it as a fabricated story.
While addressing at a news conference here on Wednesday, she said that an issue was made out of an incident that never existed in the first place. “The alleged rape incident was a fabricated story with no basis in reality,” Maryam said, adding: “The girl (in a viral video) was not a rape victim, but a victim of bad politics and a conspiracy.”
Talking about the student-led demonstration in the city against the alleged rape incident, Maryam claimed that some of the protesters were not even students. “Our opposition party (PTI) launched them,” she regretted. “Whoever was behind this, I will not spare them; journalists and social media users provoked and incited the students and disrespected the girl and her family, and we have traced their accounts. There will be a crackdown against them. The problem is the PTI and not social media.”
Maryam alleged that PTI-paid journalists were responsible for instigating and inciting the students to mutiny. She revealed that the girl’s family approached her and requested that those who fabricated this story should be exposed.
She averred, “Chaos was being spread across Punjab based on lies, especially during the SCO summit when foreign dignitaries were visiting Pakistan. A plan was hatched to mislead and instigate students through social media deliberately.”
In this regard, she blamed the PTI for fuelling the rumours and using them to its advantage. Unveiling the details of the case, the CM said, “The basement of the college had no locks, Rescue 1122 never went despite their claims and even the witness said that she heard about the incident from someone else. I am not only a CM but I also represent women, this is my red line. If a rape did happen, I would have acted before anyone said anything.”
Maryam slammed the PTI and alleged that this party conspired against the Punjab government by spreading baseless news about a rape of a girl student and that she eventually passed away at a hospital.
“Now I have concluded that after repeatedly failing in mustering support for its protest demonstrations and rallies, this party (PTI) has hatched another conspiracy to bring a bad name to the government. The problem with the PTI is that it does not want Pakistan to prosper; if the country progress its popularity would receive a blow.”
She added that on October 10, the police were informed that a girl had been raped at a private college. “The informant even named that girl and said the incident had taken place on October 10. “But the girl, whose name had been mentioned, had been admitted to a hospital on October 2 because she had fallen to the floor due to which she received injuries.”
The CM further that she had talked to the girl’s father who had told her that the incident that was reported in the media was nothing but a lie. She added that ever since the complaint was made, the Punjab Police was looking for the girl. She also refuted reports that the CCTV camera footage had been deleted to hide the crime; there was no witness to this incident, as it did not take place. She also responded to various queries from the media on the occasion.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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