Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday announced she was ordering a crackdown on anyone who spread “fake news” that a girl was alleged raped at a campus of the privately-run Punjab College in Lahore.
Since Monday, students of the educational institute have been protesting in various cities of Punjab, demanding justice for the alleged rape of a young girl in Lahore. The protests have at-times turned violent, with at least 28 policemen and students injured, with most observers pointing to the use of social media to incite unrest.
Earlier, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari had announced that an inquiry had failed to locate any evidence of the alleged rape, stressing the alleged victim’s family was very disturbed and was demanding action against those spreading the fake news. Punjab Police had similarly issued an open call seeking information on the whereabouts of the alleged victim, noting none of their inquiries had substantiated any of the claims circulating on social media.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, the Punjab chief minister reiterated that reports of the alleged rape were fake and vowed a crackdown against anyone involved in spreading such reports “whether they be journalists, politicians, or family members of the Q-League.” One of the major protests against the alleged rape occurred in Gujrat, the stronghold of the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid), whose former leader Parvez Elahi is currently the president of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Maryam alleged she was “aware” of who was responsible for the Gujrat protests, indicating Elahi—who is a relative of the chief of government ally Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid)—had played a role in inciting unrest. She claimed many of the protesting students did not even know what issue they were demonstrating for.
Asserting that all reports of the alleged rape were fake, Maryam also blamed the PTI for spreading fake news in a bid to spread anarchy and damage the state, especially at a time when the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit was underway in Islamabad. “I call them [PTI] a terrorist organization for a reason. Who will compensate for the loss that the child and her family suffered as a result of her name being used to spark unrest,” she said, referring to the alleged victim, whose family had repeatedly asserted all reports of the alleged rape are fake. Earlier, the family issued medical reports indicating that the alleged victim was injured at home and has been recuperating at home. They said she hadn’t even been present at school on the days the alleged incident occurred. On their plea, police have registered a first information report (FIR) against the spread of misinformation and unverified news on social media.
The Punjab chief minister said that the alleged victim hadn’t attended school since Oct. 2, while the alleged assailant—a guard at the college—had been on vacation. She noted police had taken him into custody over the allegations, but had yet to find any evidence implicating him in any crime. She further noted that various students had alleged the college had deleted CCTV footage of the incident. “First, a false story was created and then a search was started for the victim. There were no eyewitnesses as the incident did not happen,” she maintained.
Stressing that she was compelled to address the press conference on the pleas of the mother of the alleged victim, she stressed that no incident of rape occurred and called for legal action against all who used social media to incite unrest. Reiterating her blame of the PTI, she said the party had failed to gather crowds for its protests and had decided to use a poor girl to try and trigger anarchy.
While appreciating the Punjab education minister for seeking to pacify the students on Monday, Maryam said she had directed him to reverse a suspension of the registration of the college. “No injustice should be done to anyone, whoever is involved in this incident will not be spared,” she maintained.
A young girl whose statement to media was presented as “evidence” of the rape accompanied Maryam. The girl clarified that her statement was misconstrued, adding a “teacher” had urged her to make it. She further clarified that she had not heard any incident and had made clear in her statement she was repeating what she was told by a teacher. A professor of Lahore College for Women, a sister of PTI leader Zartaj Gul, was also present, and clarified that she believed the issue was incited through social media.