ISLAMABAD: The state would pursue prosecution in a case involving a couple who died an earlier claim they were subjected to sexual harassment by a local influential and his accomplices in an apartment in the E-11 sector of Islamabad in September, an official said Wednesday.
A police probe into the incident — videos of which went viral on social media — revealed the victims were forced to perform sex in front of members of the gang, and the young woman was tortured to perform a nude dance and recorded.
However, in a twisted turn of events, the woman, who was scheduled to testify and cross-examined before a trial court against the principal suspect Usman Mirza on Tuesday, sought permanent exemption from the case, maintaining she could neither pursue the case nor want to appear in person before the court.
She also refused to identify the accused and claimed she saw them for the first time in the police station.
Today, Barrister Maleeka Bokhari, an MP of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Justice, said the state would pursue the matter “irrespective of recent developments”.
Meeting held at @MoLawJusticeof1
The State will pursue prosecution in the Usman Mirza case irrespective of recent developments relating to victim’s testimony.Irrefutable video & forensic evidence on record- anyone harrassing & stripping a woman must face full force of the law. pic.twitter.com/SHRMCzhXk1— Maleeka Bokhari (@MalBokhari) January 12, 2022
“Irrefutable video [and] forensic evidence on record- anyone harassing [and] stripping a woman must face the full force of the law,” tweeted the MP.
In this regard, a meeting was held at the Ministry of Law and Justice to decide the future course of action, she added.
