Following the emergence of a disturbing video depicting an attempted assault on a woman in Dera Ghazi Khan, Southern Punjab, authorities have taken swift action.
The incident, which came to light through a video shared on social media platform X, showed an assailant attempting to cut a woman’s nose, prompting public outcry and intervention by the National Commission for Human Rights.
After the video’s viral spread, the police registered a case on July 6 and apprehended a suspect named Zafar Lashari. According to reports, the attack was allegedly motivated by the victim’s refusal to establish a romantic relationship with Lashari.
The case has garnered further attention due to the involvement of local journalist Javed Siddiqui, who reported the incident on June 19 and urged police action. In a controversial response, the police dismissed Siddiqui’s claims as unfounded and instead filed a case against him, accusing him of spreading false information.
This response was based on a previous complaint about similar incidents involving two women in Shah Sadr Din, which the police had allegedly failed to investigate properly. When they did follow up, the women involved denied the allegations, leading to accusations against Siddiqui for propagating false news.
Siddiqui defended his actions in a statement, asserting that the incident occurred just before Eid and that his reporting was based on reliable sources. He claimed that after sharing the information on social media, the local SHO contacted him, denied the report’s veracity, and threatened legal action unless the post was deleted. Siddiqui maintained his stance and provided evidence to the police, alleging that they had previously settled the matter with the accused for a bribe, leading them to target him instead of pursuing justice against the perpetrators.
