- DPM’s demand for resignation is “completely unfounded”: Sanaullah.
- He says the case of foreign women is unnecessarily exaggerated.
- Two foreign women arrived in Lahore on June 29: Lahore DIG.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Sunday termed Senator Faisal Vawda’s demand that Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar resign as “completely baseless” and alleged that efforts were being made to link the foreign women’s case with the Deputy Prime Minister.
“Faisal Vawda’s demand that the deputy prime minister resign is totally baseless,” Sanaullah said in his speech at Geographic news program ‘Naya Pakistan’.
The case came to the fore after a first information report (FIR) was registered at Defense C police station in Lahore against five suspects, including Muhammad Raza Dar, identified as the grandson of a high-profile political bigwig, for the alleged kidnapping, extortion and sexual assault of two foreign nationals, a Spaniard and a Dutchman.
Referring to the alleged kidnapping and assault case involving two foreign women, Sanaullah said the matter was “being unnecessarily exaggerated”, adding that attempts were being made to turn “a non-issue into a problem”.
Sanaullah further said that “attempts are being made to drag this matter towards Ishaq Dar.”
He said: “Each person is responsible for his own words and actions… a vile mentality is to highlight this matter for a specific purpose.”
Sanaullah said the foreign women’s statements under Section 164 had been recorded and the investigating agency had complete evidence in the case.
He added that no further evidence was needed to file the challan and proceed with the trial.
“The Section 164 plea is sufficient to secure the conviction of the accused,” Sanaullah said, adding that the foreign women could be called back to Pakistan if necessary.
CM orders to ensure merit in case
Earlier in the day, Lahore Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Faisal Kamran said Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz directed authorities to proceed on merit in the case related to the alleged abduction of two foreign women.
“The prime minister said that the case should be treated on its merits and whoever committed the crime will be punished,” Faisal Kamran said during a press conference in Lahore on Sunday.
Addressing the media, Kamran of DIG Operations said that the two foreign women arrived in Lahore on June 29 and were allegedly kidnapped soon after.
He said police launched an investigation after tracking the vehicle involved and examining its travel history through Safe City cameras. He said the vehicle was tracked while traveling on the highway towards Sargodha, while raids were also conducted at Shahdara and Defence.
Kamran said the first ransom call was received on July 1 from a man identified as Carlos, who informed police that Spanish authorities had also been notified. He added that the Safe City Authority received a call to the emergency helpline on the same day.
He said four suspects were arrested on July 2 after police traced phone numbers, vehicle details and location data.
According to a police officer, the women were later taken to the airport by the suspect Raza Dar when an altercation took place near Bhatta Chowk. The vehicle crashed, the women jumped out of the vehicle and took refuge in a filter house, where the police later rescued them.
The DIG Operations rejected reports that the women had turned up alone and said they had claimed that they were rescued by the Punjab Police.
“The statement of the foreign women is available and they said that the Punjab police rescued them,” the police officer said.
Kamran said the statements were recorded in the presence of a magistrate and not under police supervision. After medical examinations and completion of the legal process, the women were allowed to leave the country.
He added that the embassy had requested the women’s early departure, but the police asked for an extra day to record their statements.
“We told them to give us one more day to record their statements,” Kamran added.
The DIG Operations also said that when a relative of a senior political figure emerged as a suspect, senior officers were informed and the family was contacted to verify the information before taking further action.
