LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: Comments by the lead police investigator suggesting that the victim of a gang rape in Pakistan that occurred along one of the country’s most secure highways was to blame have spurred cries of outrage.
Investigators say the victim left her home with her two children in Lahore and was driving when her car ran out of fuel around 1:30 a.m. She called a relative and a helpline for the highway police, but before they arrived, two men approached, broke the car’s windows, and dragged the woman and her children to a field beside the highway, where she was gang raped.
On Thursday, Omar Sheikh, the lead investigator in the case, said in a TV news program that the victim should have taken another highway, the Grand Trunk (GT) Road, and should have made sure she had enough fuel for the journey.
The highway the attack took place on was constructed to replace the centuries-old and traffic-plagued GT Road, and is equipped with CCTV and a dedicated police force. Sheikh declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Shireen Mazari, the minister for human rights, said on Twitter that the investigator’s remarks were “unnaceptable.”
“The right to access public spaces and safe mobility is a fundamental right of every person in Pakistan, including women,” the Women in Law Initiative, a group of women lawyers and rights advocates, said in a statement condemning the attack and pointing out an increasing frequency in similar cases of violence against women and girls.
Twelve suspects had been arrested so far, Musarrat Cheema, spokesperson for the government of Punjab province, said on Twitter.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a statement on Twitter he was following the case closely and had asked investigators for the “arrest and sentencing of those involved in the incident as soon as possible,” adding that his government would look into how to strengthen laws to deal with an apparent increase in cases involving the rape of women and children.
In February, lawmakers passed a bill calling for those convicted of the sexual abuse and murder of children to be hanged in public. But the government opposed the bill and it was not enacted into law.
Pakistanis outraged as investigator blames mother gang-raped along major highway
https://arab.news/bw8vj
Pakistanis outraged as investigator blames mother gang-raped along major highway
- Lead investigator says victim should have taken another highway and made sure she had enough fuel for the journey
- Woman whose car broke down on highway Tuesday night was dragged to a field beside the motorway and assaulted in front of her children
Pakistani stocks breach 176,000 points barrier as investors expect further rate cuts
- Pakistani financial analyst attributes surge to falling inflation, investors expecting further policy rate cuts
- Pakistan’s finance ministry said Thursday that inflation had slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in December
KARACHI: Pakistani stocks continued their bullish run on Thursday, breaching the 176,000 points barrier for the first time after trading ended, with analysts attributing the surge to investors expecting further cuts in the policy rate.
The KSE-100 benchmark gained 2,301.17 points at close of business on Thursday, marking an increase of 1.32 percent to settle at 176,355.49 points.
Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 10.5 percent last month, breaking a four-meeting hold in a move that surprised markets. Pakistan’s consumer price inflation slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in December, while prices fell on a monthly basis as per data from the finance ministry.
“Upbeat data for consumer price index (CPI) inflation at 5.6pc in December 2025 [with] investors expecting a further State Bank of Pakistan rate cuts on falling inflation data,” Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Commodities Ltd., told Arab News.
The stock market witnessed a trading volume of 1,402.650 million shares, with a traded value of Rs48.424 billion ($173 million), compared with 957.239 million shares valued at Rs44.231 billion ($158 million) during the previous session.
Topline Securities, a leading brokerage firm in Pakistan, credited the surge to strong buying at the first session.
“This positivity can be accredited to buying by local institutions on the start of the new calendar year,” it said.
https://x.com/toplinesec/status/2006690862483624136
Pakistan’s Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad highlighted that the bullish trend at the stock market reflected “strong investor confidence.”
“With lower inflation, affordable fuel, stronger reserves, rising digitization and a buoyant capital market, Pakistan’s economic outlook is clearly improving--supporting greater confidence, better investment sentiment and more positive momentum for 2026,” he said on social media platform X.
