ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of students on Monday staged protests over a reported rape of a student at a college in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore and forced closure of one of the campuses, with police and provincial government officials denying the incident.
The incident was first reported on social media over the weekend, with varying accounts stating the rape took place on Thursday or Friday evening in the basement of a Punjab College for Women campus.
However, the police on Monday said no victim had come forward to file a complaint and the college dismissed the allegations as “false.”
“The records of all the CCTV cameras in the campus have been checked,” Faisal Kamran, a senior Lahore police official, said at a press conference. “Till now, we are unable to verify the incident.”
“The alleged victim has not been identified as yet,” he said, adding the police had also checked hospital records.
The Punjab College for Women said in a post on Instagram that no such incident had been reported to police and false information was being spread online.
The police, however, took a security guard into custody who was identified online.
“The accused guard has been in custody since yesterday, but no girl or incident has been reported yet,” Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said on X.
“If anyone has any confirmed information about this incident, please share.”
— With additional input from AFP
Pakistani students force closure of Lahore college campus amid protests over rape reports
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Pakistani students force closure of Lahore college campus amid protests over rape reports
- Police said no victim had come forward to file a complaint and the college dismissed the allegations as ‘false’
- Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari urges people to share if they had confirmed information about incident
Bangladesh approves new rice imports from Pakistan amid price pressures
- The deal follows Bangladesh’s resumption of direct rice trade with Pakistan earlier this year for the first time since independence in 1971
- Diplomatic ties between the two nations have improved since the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina after mass protests last year
DHAKA: Bangladesh has approved the import of 50,000 metric tons of white rice from Pakistan under a government-to-government deal as part of efforts to stabilize domestic prices, officials said on Tuesday.
The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase cleared the deal at $395 per ton, reinforcing Dhaka’s renewed trade engagement with Islamabad.
Rice prices in Bangladesh have jumped by between 15 percent and 20 percent over the past year, with medium-quality rice selling at about 80 taka ($0.66) per kilogram. Despite increased imports and the removal of duties to ease supply constraints, prices for the staple grain remain stubbornly high.
The deal follows Bangladesh’s resumption of direct rice trade with Pakistan earlier this year for the first time since independence in 1971. In February, it imported 50,000 tons of rice from Pakistan at $499 per ton under a similar agreement.
Diplomatic ties between the two South Asian nations have improved since an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took office after mass protests forced then prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to neighboring India last year.
Formerly East Pakistan, Bangladesh gained independence after a nine-month war in 1971, and relations with Pakistan have remained fraught in the decades since the conflict.
Separately, the government approved another 50,000 tons of parboiled rice through an international tender, part of a series of recent purchases aimed at cooling local prices. India’s Pattabhi Agro Foods secured the contract with the lowest bid of $355.77 per ton.
