PM blames ‘misuse’ of mobile phones for rising sexual crimes
Laying stress upon the importance of correct usage of modern technology, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday claimed that sexual crimes are on the rise in the country due to the "misuse" of mobile phones.
The premier's remarks came days after a female TikToker, along with her companions, was harassed and assaulted by a mob in Lahore’s Greater Iqbal Park.
The victim stated in her complaint lodged with the Lari Adda police station that she was filming a video near Minar-e-Pakistan along with her friends when a mob of around 400 people attacked them. She alleged that the mob picked her up and started tossing her in the air. “I was stripped and my clothes were torn apart,” she said.
Read more: Another young woman harassed on 14th August in Lahore
Addressing Punjab Education Convention in Lahore today, the prime minister said that besides, imparting quality education to the young people with the use of modern technology, it was imperative to guide and educate them about the supreme qualities of Seerat-e-Nabi (PBUH) for their character building.
Commenting on the Minar-e-Pakistan tragedy, the premier said that the incident was disturbing and such episodes are not part of our culture and religion.
"In the past, the respect the women were getting in our country was nowhere to be seen in the world. In the West, women did not get that respect which they used to get here."
PM Imran said that such incidents were occurring because our children are not being guided properly. "Sexual crimes are on the rise due to misuse of mobile phones. We need to educate our children about the supreme qualities of Seerat-e-Nabi (PBUH)," he added.
He regretted that the past rulers never laid emphasis upon the education sector as it was not their priority. “No one ever thought of one curriculum in the country,” he added.
In the past, he added, the rulers always prioritised short-term projects like metro to get publicity for the elections campaigns.
Read: Mob assault on TikToker triggers national outrage
PM Imran said that the English medium education system introduced in the country, alienated the students from their basic culture. "After independence, they (the rulers) should have worked on the education system with one curriculum, but we ended up with three parallel education systems in the country... the religious seminaries, English medium schools and government-owned schools.
“In the past, best intellectuals were groomed in the government-owned schools, but later, the system waned and the private sector thrived making us servants of an alien culture,” he observed.
The prime minister also lauded federal minister Shafqat Mahmood and the Punjab ministers for their efforts over bringing reforms in the education sector especially the introduction of a single national curriculum.
Terming it as "a turning point", the prime minister said these reforms would take time to yield results.
Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, provincial ministers, provincial authorities and a large number of people were present on the occasion.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Punjab Jawad Rafique Malik and Inspector General of Police Punjab, Inam Ghani called upon PM Imran in Lahore and briefed him about the overall law and order situation in the province.
Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar was also present during the meeting. The prime minister was apprised of the steps taken for the protection of women.
The prime minister directed for strict and immediate steps for ending incidents against women and for their protection. He said that immediate measures must be taken to ensure stringent punishment to the culprits.
Also read: 24 rounded up for assaulting, harassing TikToker: Mazari
During the meeting, the prime minister was briefed about the administrative steps taken against land grabbers, price hike and hoarding in the province.
The number of sexual abuse was on the rise in the country especially in Punjab. As many as nine cases of rape of women and three of sexual abuse of children were reported daily on average in the province during the first six months of 2020.
Police record shows that the province also recorded a daily average of average 35 cases of abduction and 11 murders between January and June.
At least 6,448 people were abducted and more than 2,000 were killed in the province during the period.
“As many as 1,005 incidents of women subjected to rape were reported in the province during the first six months of the year,” a report revealed.
The police record also showed 670 reported incidents of sexual assault against children during the period.
In June, PM Imran came under fire for being a “rape apologist” after he blamed women’s “few clothes” for a rise in rape cases in the country.
The prime minister made the comments in an interview on HBO when he was asked whether he thought rapists were tempted by how women dress up and if there was any link between the two.
Later that month, he clarified his stance on the rising sex crimes in Pakistan and asserted that he had never blamed victims. He stated that his comments were deliberately taken out of context and that he solemnly holds only the rapists responsible for rape.
The premier, during an appearance on PBSO News Hour on June 28, also provided clarification regarding his comments on ‘pardah’ and assured that he was referring to everyone, not just women or their clothes.
With input from APP