As the newly-appointed Lahore police chief blamed the motorway gang-rape victim for the incident, a strong reaction on social media forced Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari to condemn the controversial officer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmx9WoLaPJM
“For an officer to effectively blame a woman for being gang-raped by saying she should have taken the GT Road or question as to why she went out in the night with her children is unacceptable,” she said in a tweet.
Mazari added that she has taken up the issue. “Nothing can ever rationalise the crime of rape. That's it.”
Earlier, CCPO Lahore Umer Sheikh told a private TV channel that the gang-rape victim shouldn’t have used that road.
He did not limit himself to this as he went even further, saying why she had ventured out during the night for a long journey and that she should have checked the fuel tank of her car.
As soon as the TV channel aired the police officer’s remarks, social media like Twitter burst with anger, as the people from different walks of life called for his removal.
PML-N’s Sania Ashiq, who is a member of Punjab Assembly, said, “This is the cheap mindset we need to change.”
Like many others, senior Nasim Zehra, who is associated with 24NewsHD TV channel, demanded his immediate removal.
https://twitter.com/NasimZehra/status/1304034109543657478
An active Twitter user even suggested that Punjab Chief Usman Buzdar should issue a notification to inform the women that they must consult the CCPO for select a safe road to avoid being raped in front of their children.
https://twitter.com/Liaqyat/status/1304018696155860992
And the angry people have some valid questions. “This is CCPO Umar Sheikh of the esteemed Punjab Police, for whom one IG has already been let go. This victim blamer is supposed to protect us?”