Tag: Usman Mirza

  • Suspect involved in couple harassment, torture case seeks bail

    Suspect involved in couple harassment, torture case seeks bail

    A suspect in a case pertaining to sexual harassment and torture of a couple in Islamabad involving Usman Mirza has filed a bail plea before the Islamabad High Court (IHC), ARY NEWS reported on Monday.

    As per reports, the hearing in the case was heard by IHC judge Justice Tariq Mahmood.

    The suspect’s counsel said that the video involving Usman Mirza harassing and torturing an Islamabad couple went viral and police filed a case against Usman Mirza and nominated five persons in it.

    “Neither my client committed the act nor was he present at the incident site,” adding that he was also not included in the FIR.

    The lawyer said that the trial court rejected his client’s bail plea even after notifying them that he was a university student and could not flee anywhere.

    “The IHC should grant bail to him while considering the argument,” he added as the court adjourned the hearing for another two weeks.

    Earlier in July, a district and sessions court in Islamabad ordered the police to submit a challan against Usman Mirza and his other partners until September 10.

    The court extended the remand of four suspects, including Usman Mirza, Idris Qayyum Butt, Farhan, and Atta ur Rehman, after their 14-day remand ended.

    While directing the police to submit challan in the case, the court asked to present them before the court on August 13 and 27.

    The accused have been sent to Adiala Jail until September 10.

  • Usman Mirza case: Stop blaming the victim

    Usman Mirza case: Stop blaming the victim

    A harrowing video recently went viral on social media in which a man, Usman Mirza, was seen harassing and assaulting a young couple. He had a few male accomplices with him, and he was also armed. Mirza beat up the couple, stripped them, and subjected them to sexual assault. Pakistani women on social media came out in support of the young couple and also voiced how unsafe and insecure they feel in a society full of misogyny and violence.

    Following an uproar on social media, the police arrested Usman Mirza and his accomplices. The police also reached out to the couple to record their statement. According to media reports, the couple recorded their statements separately under Section 161 of the Criminal Code. The incident took place last year in November and the couple was blackmailed by the culprit; they ended up paying more than a million rupees to Mirza. This was clearly not an isolated incident as more videos have been found from the mobile phones of the arrested men. It shows that this gang of criminals has been indulging in such nefarious activities for quite some time now.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken notice of the case. The Islamabad police chief briefed PM Khan on the case yesterday. Thankfully, the police have so far been extremely responsible and have not indulged in any victim-blaming, unlike the Motorway gang rape case where CCPO Lahore’s comments about the rape survivor were atrocious, to say the least. SSP (Investigations) Atta-ur-Rehman appeared on a few TV talk shows and actually talked about why such incidents are not reported by victims and survivors due to social taboos. Unfortunately, we still have people in our society who think the victims are somehow at fault instead of holding the culprits solely responsible for their crime. Just last month, PM Khan made a controversial statement in an interview where he said that if women wear very few clothes, it will have an impact on the men unless they are robots. And today, in a now-deleted tweet, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Hina Butt said that while beasts Usman Mirza should be condemned but is it not necessary that we teach our boys and girls why they become targets of such beasts. “Our youth should also introspect their own behaviour.”

    One wonders why the young couple should introspect when they were the victims and not the perpetrators of a despicable crime. In fact, those who are busy blaming and shaming innocent victims should be introspecting instead. Such attitudes do not just make victims and survivors more insecure but are extremely triggering for those who have faced sexual harassment, assault, and rape. Why is it that ‘honour’ is always linked to a woman in our society? Why is it that instead of empowering women, even empowered women end up blaming the victims of abuse? Why is it that everything depends on how a woman was dressed or where she was or who she was with or at what time she went out? Why? We need to uproot this deeply embedded misogyny from our minds. We need to make our women feel secure. We need to make our laws stronger and implement them so that these survivors have trust in the justice system and also in our society so that they do report such harrowing incidents instead of staying quiet due to expected backlash. When we start pointing fingers at the victim, we end up empowering the criminals, the perpetrators of violent crimes. Stop this trend. Enough is enough.

  • Twitter calls out PML-N’s Hina Butt for blaming the victims

    Twitter calls out PML-N’s Hina Butt for blaming the victims

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Hina Pervaiz Butt took to Twitter to comment on the Usman Mirza case. She ended up blaming the victims instead in a now-deleted tweet. In a harrowing video that went viral on social media, Mirza was seen torturing, harassing, and assaulting a young couple in Islamabad along with his accomplices.

    Hina Butt tweeted, “Why do young people go out and become victims of people like Usman Mirza?” She added that we also need to educate our children on why they become targets when they go out.

    Twitterati reacted to Butt’s tweet and called her out for blaming the victim.

    Natasha Kundi, a writer wrote, “According to her [Hina] young people go out and deliberately become victims …. so basically young people shouldn’t go out!”

    Lawyer Reema Omer said Butt’s take was no different from CCPO Lahore’s comments. She tweeted, “Why can’t we focus on criminal acts of the perpetrators instead of lecturing victims?”

    Singer and UNODC Goodwill Ambassador, Shehzad Roy, tweeted, “It is true that the oppressor should be severely punished, but it is very inappropriate to criticise the oppressed.” Roy further said that it is akin to blaming victims of a robbery by saying that the locks were not strong enough so it is their fault.

    A Twitter user showing his disapproval with PML-N’s leader’s statement compared her stance with CCPO Lahore Umar Sheikh’s comments in the Motorway rape case where he had blamed the victim.

    Journalist Zeb Aslam tweeted, “There is next-to-no difference between this and IK’s statement linking “modesty” and rape…a point that I hope both PMLN and PTI supporters can appreciate before leaping to defend their chosen leader.”

    After the backlash, Hina Butt deleted her tweet.

  • Usman Mirza Case: IG Islamabad briefs PM Khan

    Usman Mirza Case: IG Islamabad briefs PM Khan

     Inspector-General (IG) of Police Islamabad, Qazi Jameel-ur-Rehman, had a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday and briefed him on the ongoing investigation regarding sexual assault and harassment of a couple by Usman Mirza and his accomplices.

    The IGP is personally monitoring the case after the arrest of Usman Mirza to ensure criminal action, a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said.

    “The premier was informed that all scientific methods are being used to collect more evidence. The IGP also informed the prime minister about the law and order situation in Islamabad,” the statement said.

    Prime Minister had earlier taken notice of the case and telephoned IG Islamabad and sought details of the incident from him.

    “The police should use all their energies to bring all the accused to justice and share the report with the PM Office,” he added.

    Referring to the suspects, Usman Mirza and his accomplices, PM Khan said such people don’t deserve any concessions.

    Earlier this week, police arrested four people after a video of them holding a couple at gunpoint, forcing them to strip and then beating them up went viral on social media.

  • ‘Girl had come to take her exams’: SSP Islamabad on the Usman Mirza case

    Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Investigation Atta-ur-Rehman has shared details about the girl and the boy who were harassed by Usman Mirza and other culprits. He shared the details in TV programme, ‘Mad-e-Muqabil’ with anchorpersons Rauf Klasra and Amir Mateen.

    The police officer said that they traced the couple and reached out to them for investigation and assured them that the state, media and people are with them and asked them to cooperate, after which the couple recorded their statement.

    He further shared that the girl was from Lahore, and she came to Islamabad to give an exam, and the boy present in the video was her fiance who helped her with the accommodation by asking his friend for his apartment for a day.

    Usman Mirza and gang showed up at the apartment when the boy stepped out to buy groceries and harassed the girl. The police say they will try to take the case to its logical conclusion.

    SSP, while answering a question, said that Usman Mirza was allegedly drunk and he was armed, which is why it was difficult for anyone to rescue the couple.

    The incident happened in November last year probably, shared SSP Atta-ur-Rehman, adding that the couple got married later with the consent of both families.

    A video went viral on social media recently in which Usman Mirza was seen torturing, harassing, and assaulting a young couple in Islamabad along with his accomplices. Mirza was arrested after the video went viral. His accomplices have also been arrested.

  • #ArrestUsmanMirza case: ‘Our concern is to protect the boy, girl from danger’: Islamabad Police

    #ArrestUsmanMirza case: ‘Our concern is to protect the boy, girl from danger’: Islamabad Police

    Four people were arrested in connection with Usman Mirza in Islamabad after a disturbing video went viral on social media where he could be seen torturing and assaulting a couple. He was also seen stripping the woman in the video.

    After the arrest of Usman Mirza, the police further investigated the case which led to the tracing of others.

    The incident had occurred in an apartment on E-11/2, the police stated. The flat was in possession of a property dealer from whom the boy had taken its key, the officers said. The six suspects also had a key to the flat and they followed the couple there, reports Dawn.

    The police later traced the boy and asked him for his statement on the incident but so far he was not willing to do so, the officer said, adding that, “the boy is so frightened that he refused to give a statement and become a complainant in the case, saying the suspects would kill him and his family”.

    Police also reached out to the girl but she refused as well, they added.

    When police officials, DIG operations, and SSP operations were contacted by Dawn, they said an investigation had been launched to establish the facts.

    About the safety of the girl and the boy, they said efforts and arrangements were being made to take them in protective custody as chances of suicide and honour killing cannot be ruled out.

    “Our concern is also to protect the boy and the girl from all risks and danger,” they added. A special investigating team has been constituted to probe the incident, they added.

  • #ArrestUsmanMirza: Twitter reacts to disturbing viral video

    #ArrestUsmanMirza: Twitter reacts to disturbing viral video

    A video went viral on social media last night where a man, Usman Mirza, was seen torturing, harassing, and assaulting a young couple in Islamabad along with his accomplices. Mirza was arrested after the video went viral in which he can also be seen stripping a woman. His accomplices have also been arrested.

    Pakistani Twitter was outraged at the horrific video. One Twitter user pointed out that it took the video to go viral on social media for the man to be arrested months after the incident.

    Another Twitter user said that “absolutely nothing offers women safety”.

    Daanika Kamal said it does not matter where you are or who you are with. “Imagine living with an underlying sense of threat or fear all the time.”

    https://twitter.com/daanistan/status/1412509786537668608

    One Twitter user asked: “Why does the victims trauma need to be trended before they even blink in that direction?”

    Journalist Absa Komal asked when will we understand that rape is a “crime of power”.

    Lawyer Benazir Jatoi said that she can say with confidence that “EVERY Pakistani woman has faced some form of sexual harassment &/or violence”.

    Women’s rights activist Nayab Jan tweeted that all enablers should feel ashamed. “Those who question victims, their clothing, timing, character, morality.”

  • Man arrested for blackmailing and assaulting couple in Islamabad

    Man arrested for blackmailing and assaulting couple in Islamabad

    Police arrested Usman Mirza in Islamabad after a disturbing video went viral on social media where he could be seen torturing and assaulting a couple. He was also seen stripping a woman in the video.

    The video sparked outrage across Pakistani Twitter, with #ArrestUsmanMirza appearing in the top trends.

    The incident took place within Golra police station limits at an apartment building in sector E-11/2. The case was registered on the complaint of a sub-inspector.

    “The video of the incident went viral on social media. In the video, five to six men can be seen keeping the victims in custody under gunpoint. The accused also stripped the man and the woman naked while threatening them,” the FIR said, adding that the suspects indulged in “vulgar acts”.

    Islamabad Deputy Commissioner said that the culprit had been arrested after police efforts. “His accomplices are also being arrested. It is once again requested to please delete the videos which show the victims,” he said.

    Later, the deputy commissioner said that all the suspects had been arrested.

    Mirza reportedly threatened the young man and woman when some people tried to stop him.

    Mirza is reportedly a property dealer.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Maleeka Bokhari tweeted that the Islamabad IG is leading the investigation.

    “I have received numerous messages of women feeling unsafe and angry. The State is here to protect you & will not spare such barbarians,” Bokhari wrote.

    Journalist Reem Khurshid asked people not to post or reshare the video. She tweeted, “The young woman and man were subjected to a horrific assault. “Don’t compound their trauma by circulating images of what is likely one of the worst moments of their lives.”

    https://twitter.com/ReemKhurshid/status/1412506174268846087

    “The fear in eyes of the victim in the video reflects pervasive fear faced by women in our society,” said activist Ammar Ali Jan.