Pak Deputy PM's 'Close Relative' Arranged Visas for Foreign Women in Lahore Gang-Rape Case
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Pakistan Deputy PM's close relative allegedly arranged visas for foreign women linked to a crypto business before the Lahore gang-rape case emerged.
By Pranjal Gupta
New Delhi, July 5: Two foreign national women visiting Pakistan on business visas were abducted and gang-raped upon their arrival in Lahore. When they were rescued after a phone call from Spain, the survivors named a close relative of the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Raza Dar, as the prime accused. One of them claimed that she met Raza in Singapore and became partners in a cryptocurrency venture.
Raza, who is linked to Deputy PM Ishaq Dar, had asked the woman to come to Pakistan and had also arranged the permit. When she and her friend arrived in Lahore on June 29, they were abducted and taken to a house where five men sexually assaulted them.
One belonged to the Netherlands, while another woman was from Venezuela. When they were confined, the accused men also demanded a ransom amount for their release. However, the women were rescued by the Pakistan Police after the incident came to light.
A survivor’s father managed to contact officials in Pakistan from Spain, and told them his daughter and her friend's being captured in Pakistan.
Following that, the police arrested Muhammad Raza Dar, Hassan Raza, Sikandar Khan, and Sajid Ali. All of them were sent to a five-day police remand by a Lahore court on Friday. Meanwhile, the fifth accused is still at large, as reported by the news agency PTI.
The police have pressed charges against the arrested individuals under sections 365A (kidnapping) and 375A (gang rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
According to a court official, Raza Dar was identified by the women as the “prime suspect” when all four accused were produced before a magistrate.
