LAHORE: A man who was recently identified as one of two suspects in the gang rape of a woman who was dragged from her car on a motorway and attacked in front of her children, surrendered himself to police on Sunday and denied involvement in the crime, officials said.
The woman, who police say is in her early 30s, was driving late on Tuesday night outside Lahore with her two children when her car ran out of fuel. She phoned police for help, but before they arrived two men took her and her children out of the vehicle at gunpoint and raped her beside the highway.
“Waqarul Hasan, one of the two people accused in the motorway rape case, turned himself in and denied any involvement in the incident,” Hasnain Haider, deputy superintendent police, told Arab News. “We are investigating further to determine the veracity of his claim.”
The incident enraged people who used social media platforms to express their fury and pressure the government to identify and punish the culprits. Protests were held in several Pakistani cities over the handling of the investigation, prompting police to say on Saturday they had launched a manhunt for the suspects.
“We have managed to identify the real criminals in the case in less than 72 hours,” said the province’s chief minister, Usman Buzdar, while addressing a news conference in Lahore on Saturday.
Punjab Inspector General Police (IGP) Inam Ghani, who was also present at the occasion, said that Abid Ali, who lives in a small town in Bahawalnagar district, was the primary suspect in the case. The province’s top cop also identified Waqarul Hasan as Ali’s accomplice, saying that the police were “95-96 percent” sure of his presence at the crime scene.
Ghani added that the police conducted raids at the houses of the two suspects, though they evaded arrest since “the information had gone into the public domain” and they had “definitely received the tip-off” that the police were behind them.
According to official accounts, Ali was identified since he was already involved in a similar case in Bahawalnagar in 2013 and his DNA results in the police database matched the evidence collected in the tragic motorway incident.
Ali was released from prison in the previous case after the family his victim compromised with him.
However, Hasan, the second suspect, was identified through a SIM card issued in his name that was located at the crime scene through geo-fencing.
“There are four telephone SIMs in Abid Ali’s name, but he was not using anyone of them,” said a press statement issued by the CM office. “The police traced another number and managed to identify the other accused, Waqarul Hasan, by using that.”
Officials told Arab News that the Punjab Forensic Laboratory had been asked to take Hasan’s DNA sample since it was not available with the police.
Suspect in Pakistan gang rape case surrenders to police, pleads innocent
https://arab.news/yrdfj
Suspect in Pakistan gang rape case surrenders to police, pleads innocent
- The man was identified as suspect through a SIM card issued in his name, but police say forensic experts have yet to take his DNA samples
- Another suspect, still on the run, was involved in a similar case in 2013 and his DNA results matched the evidence collected in the incident
OIC’s COMSTECH stresses academic collaborations across Muslim world in Islamabad meeting
- COMSTECH holds annual meeting in Islamabad featuring 30 delegates from Iran, Somalia, Palestine, Indonesia and other OIC states
- Limited pool of skilled professionals one of the foremost challenges facing Muslim world, notes COMSTECH secretary general
ISLAMABAD: The OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) called for stronger academic collaboration across Islamic states to secure the future of higher education in the Muslim world, state-run media reported on Saturday.
COMSTECH’s Coordinator General Prof. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary was speaking at the Annual Meeting of the COMSTECH Consortium of Excellence at the organization’s Secretariat in Islamabad. The event brought together vice chancellors, rectors, and senior representatives from leading universities across OIC member and observer states.
Nearly 30 international delegates representing universities from Iran, Somalia, Palestine, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, Bangladesh, Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal joined their counterparts from several Pakistani institutions at the meeting. Participants attempted to chart a collective path forward for tertiary education in OIC countries.
“Collaborations, knowledge sharing, best practices, exchange of scholars, technology transfer and joint academic programs are vital for overcoming the educational challenges faced across the OIC region,” Choudhary said, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
The COMSTECH secretary general noted that one of the foremost developmental challenges facing OIC nations remains the limited pool of skilled professionals and workforce.
He said this gap can only be bridged through strengthened tertiary education systems and expanded opportunities for knowledge transfer.
Discussions at the event highlighted the urgent need for competency-driven education, modern pedagogical tools, university–industry partnerships and collaborative training programs designed to equip graduates with the skills necessary to address emerging global challenges.
“The Annual Meeting served as a vital platform for reviewing progress achieved over the past year, identifying future priorities, and deepening academic cooperation to promote scientific excellence and sustainable development across the OIC region,” the APP said.
