Pakistan deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar is under fire after his grandson was reportedly arrested as prime suspect in a gangrape case of two foreign women in Lahore.
Senator Faisal Vawda demanded Ishaq Dar’s resignation over the alleged involvement of his grandson, Muhammad Raza Dar, in the gangrape of two women – one from Venezuela and other from Netherlands – on June 29. Track updates on Khamenei’s funeral
The police have arrested four men, while one is absconding, PTI reported. The men, including Ishaq’s grandson, were sent to five-day police custody by a Lahore court on Friday.
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Raza had reportedly met the women in Singapore last year and were partners in a cryptocurrency venture. He arranged business visas for them for their visit to Pakistan, PTI reported.
Senator Vawda, with close links to the country’s military establishment, on Saturday demanded Ishaq’s resignation over the alleged abduction and gangrape of two foreigner women.
Vawda also accused the federal government and the provincial government in Punjab of protecting the minister’s relative in the high-profile case.
‘Pakistan being run like a family corporation’
Launching a sharp attack on Ishaq, senator Vawda said on Saturday that Pakistan is being “run like a family corporation”, as he highlighted the gangrape incident and described the prime suspect as “alleged grandson” of Ishaq Dar.
“He (Raza Dar) was arrested only after the intervention of the relevant foreign embassy. After such serious allegations, how can Ishaq Dar continue to represent Pakistan before the world as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister?” Vawda said in a post on X.
“If there is any concern for Pakistan and its international image, Ishaq Dar should resign immediately,” he said.
Vawda is said to be close to Pakistani military establishment and was elected as Senator on the vote of both Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which are coalition partners in the federal government. He, however, does not represent any political party.
Vawda further said on Saturday, “Attempts are being made to limit the case to extortion rather than rape, while arrangements are underway to send the foreign victims back to their country as quickly as possible.”
Ishaq Dar is among the top leaders of Pakistan and has been on Pakistan’s mediation team between Iran and the US. He joined Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir in Tehran on Friday where foreign dignitaries had gathered to pay respect to slain Iran leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
