Pakistan

Two officials arrested for ‘robbing, sexually assaulting’ Pakistani-American family in Islamabad

Family members were illegally confined, robbed, and sexually assaulted at a police checkpoint in Islamabad

Arsalan Altaf November 16, 2016

Family members were illegally confined, robbed, and sexually assaulted at a police checkpoint in Islamabad. PHOTO: APP

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested two constables involved in allegedly harassing a Pakistani-American family in the capital.

The family, visiting their home after spending 16 years abroad, were illegally confined, robbed, and sexually assaulted at a police checkpoint in Islamabad.

Visiting expat family ‘robbed, sexually assaulted’ by cops in Islamabad

"Initial investigation has been completed in the respective case, and we have a full video recording of the incident as all check points in Islamabad have CCTV cameras installed," IGP Islamabad told The Express Tribune.

"It is an incident of extortion and harassment of men in the car. Both constables have been arrested, and with sufficient video evidence we will make an example out of this so that no citizen is harassed in the future," he added.

The family was travelling from Bhara Kahu to Wah on November 13 when their rented car was stopped at a police checkpoint on Kashmir Chowk.

A police official asked the driver to show documents for the car. After the driver produced the documents, the official started accusing the driver of pushing drugs and started searching the car.

The officials asked the driver and a male family member* to step out of the vehicle, while another official searched the purse of a female relative*.

Apprentice star claims she was sexually assaulted in Pakistan

Family members later told the police that the official took $800 out of the purse.

The official, whose name plate read ‘Rana Mudassir’, took the man and the driver to a nearby picket, unstrung their trousers and touched their private parts, claiming that it was part of the frisking procedure.

The two police officials then threatened family, saying they would take the driver to the police station and lodge a case against him. After this, the cops returned $700 out of the $800 they had taken from the purse and kept the difference. The family was finally allowed to leave.

The issue was only highlighted once they reached their hometown in Wah and narrated the episode to other family members, one of whom had a relative working as a journalist in Islamabad.

Later that evening, they lodged a complaint at the Secretariat Police Station against the two officials, identified as constables Mudassir and Wadood.

COMMENTS (5)

Waseem Bahadur | 8 years ago | Reply Ethics, integrity, honesty, responsibility and respect are the most important for the security personal in every part of the country. The wear the uniform to make us feel secure but not to fear from them. Proper investigation and implementation of rule of law should be practices in every institution and at all levels. However, unfortunately we still lack this due to power difference in our society.

Jawaid Kamal | 8 years ago | Reply And this not Trumps America.

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Sodomite | 8 years ago | Reply If the guilty are bought to justice that will be good omen. But when I see what PM and his family are doing to the SC, I wonder why it is so in Islamic nations.

citizen26 | 8 years ago | Reply Wow great Islamabad police

Esa | 8 years ago | Reply I would like to thank journalists for bringing this incident to light and the victims for reporting this. The police officials must be punished. The police is meant to facilitate and protect the public but in Pakistan the police is only for security of VIPs, Diplomats, Politicians, and other influential people. There are many incidents of police harassing the general public it is supposed to protect. Proper training of security officials such as Police, FIA, etc must be provided and citizen complaints must be taken seriously.

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