In the month of Independence, Pakistanis had not expected to wake up to another sad news about a woman Ayesha Akram being brutally harassed by a mob of men. 

The Minar-e-Pakistan was robbed and humiliated by 400 men in a horrific incident. No one tried to rescue her as the mob attacked her continuously in daylight.

Social media went viral with the video of Ayesha being insulted, assaulted, and harassed.  On Pakistan’s independence day, this tragic and alarming event occurred. How did it all begin? 

Ayesha Akram: who is she? 

 Lahore-based TikToker Ayesha Akram is well-known. That’s how she became famous: she makes videos on TikTok. On Independence Day, Akram and six of her friends attended Greater Iqbal Park in Lahore.

When the horrific incident occurred, she was filming and taking selfies with her companions. Three days after the video was posted, everyone is raising security concerns regarding women because of the spread of the video on social media.

During the incident

Around 300 to 400 people attacked Ayesha Akram and her six companions while she and her six companions were filming a video near Minar-e-Pakistan, according to her First Information Report (FIR) registered at the Lorry Adda police station. 

There were many people in the crowd, scaling the enclosure and coming towards Ayesha, according to her complaint. She was pushed and pulled until her clothes were ripped off by men. Ayesha said several people tried to help her escape the mob, but they threw her into the air because the crowd was too big.

In this case, 

According to the Pakistan Penal Code, the FIR is based on Section 354 A (assault or use of criminal force against a woman and stripping her of her clothes), Section 382 (theft prepared to cause death, hurt or restraint in order to commit theft), Section 147 (rioting) and Section 149 (unlawful assembly).

Sajid Kiywani, the DIG (Operations) of Lahore, has instructed the superintendent of police (SP) to take legal action against the suspects who committed this crime.

Who is responsible for what?

In the aftermath of the horrific incident, many people continued to accuse the victim of using TikTok excessively. Despite over 39 million downloads, Pakistan has banned and re-banned the TikTok application over accusations that it promotes ‘immorality’ and ‘obscenity’.

As a TikTooker, some users believed that she should be treated equally with the others who attacked her. Ayesha should not have gone to public places in the first place, according to some of them. Many citizens expressed anger over the actions of the men in the video, as some people commented the same thing happened with Ayesha, she entertained on TikTok, citizens expected the same in real life.

It was agreed that a public execution would be a just punishment for such a heinous crime so that girls could feel safe at least to some extent. Following Noor Mukadam’s murder in July, similar incidents have been occurring in Pakistan since last month. 

PM Imran Khan’s stance on the issue

As soon as Imran Khan became aware of the incident, he contacted the Punjab IG and ordered that the culprits be arrested immediately.

As a result of the incident of indecent assault on a woman in Lahore, the prime minister contacted the Inspector General of Police Punjab and ordered the arrest of the accused immediately.

Condemnation from other politicians

Every Pakistani should be ashamed of the mob’s assault on young women at Minar-e-Pakistan, according to Bilawal Bhutto. “Our society is rotten,”

Certainly, the effective implementation of our laws will have some deterrent effect, but mindsets must also change in order to stop crimes against all vulnerable members of our society. 

Celebrity demands 

According to Asim Azhar, every man should feel angry and ashamed to be a man.

Mahira Khan, in shock, posted two stories and condemned the act.

Asefa Bhutto Zardari, too, came forward and slammed all those defending, justifying or downplaying the Minare-e-Pakistan incident. 

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