Situational: Another Woman Raped In Islamabad’s F-9 Park

Asem Mustafa Awan

Islamabad: Two rape incidents in a span of four days in the highly secured federal capital have shaken the capital and prompted public lashings at the authorities to arrest the perpetrators of the heinous crime at the earliest.

In yet another incident on Sunday, a woman was assaulted and raped at gunpoint in Islamabad’s F-9 park, only three days after a woman was raped on Thursday in the same park.

According to the police, two armed suspects took a woman and a colleague hostage, and moved them to the thickets in the park.

The victim stated that the accused continued to assault her and beat her colleague. The two men sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she reported the crime.

A first information report (FIR) of the incident was registered at the capital’s Margalla police station. The FIR stated that the victim was taking a stroll in the park with her friend when two men separated her from her friend and assaulted her for showing resistance.

Islamabad Capital Police spokesperson said that a special unit is investigating the incident.

In a series of tweets, Islamabad Capital Territory’s (ICT) official Twitter account stated that the investigation is being supervised by Central Police Office (CPO) Operations Sohail Zafar Chatta and people present in the park at the time of the incident as well as the park’s administration are being questioned.

The evidence is being collected from CCTV cameras and local intelligence.

As the legal proceedings are underway, the victim underwent a medical examination at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), which revealed marks of assault on her body. The samples have been sent to the forensic laboratory.

The rise in heinous crimes in Pakistan has raised eyebrows in certain quarters and it is believed that the perpetrators will be brought to justice soon. The heinous incident has drawn anger from human rights activists, social media users and masses as people called for stern punishment for the culprits.

Amid the condemnations, Human Rights Committee Chairman has also taken notice of the incident and demanded a detailed report to be submitted in parliament.