LAHORE: Law Minister Rana Sanaullah says the Muzaffargarh girl was not raped but some accused had attempted to rape her.

One of the accused she had identified was a brother-in-law of her sister and both the victim and accused families had some business dispute and on the same ground, the accused was bailed out and declared innocent in the police report, he told the Punjab Assembly on Friday while quoting the FIR.

Very low attendance was witnessed in the sixth sitting of the assembly as members discussed the incident of self-immolation of rape victim through 11 points of order. Opposition legislators, except the JI MPA, staged a token walkout for two minutes against the incident.

Amid the opposition's protest, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah assured the legislators that police inquiry report on the incident would be presented to the house in the next sitting on Monday.

On the police role in the case, he said the whole department should not be blamed for the folly of a few. He assured the legislators that a legal action would be taken by the government against the policemen if anyone of them was found guilty.

The chief minister, the law minister said, had appointed the additional inspector general to probe the incident and submit report within 24 hours, adding the report would be put before the house on Monday.

The opposition MPAs raised slogans against the minister, alleging he was covering up police negligence.

Annual reports of the Punjab Pension Fund for the years 2010-11 and 2011-12 were also presented in the house which also took up two privileged motions, as well. In one of the motions, the opposition leader and 25 other MPAs argued that they were denied representation in district coordination committees despite assurances by the government. Their motion was referred to the committee.

Opinion

Editorial

On press freedoms
Updated 03 May, 2026

On press freedoms

THE citizenry forgets, to its own peril, how important a free and independent media is in the preservation of their...
Inflation strain
03 May, 2026

Inflation strain

PAKISTAN’S return to double-digit inflation after 21 months signals renewed economic strain where external shocks...
Troubled waters
03 May, 2026

Troubled waters

PAKISTAN’S water crisis is often framed in terms of scarcity. Increasingly, it is also a crisis of contamination....
Iran stalemate
Updated 02 May, 2026

Iran stalemate

THE US and Iran are currently somewhere between war and peace. While a tenuous ceasefire — extended largely due to...
Tax shortfall
02 May, 2026

Tax shortfall

THE Rs684bn shortfall in tax collection during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is a continuation of a...
Teaching inclusion
02 May, 2026

Teaching inclusion

DISCRIMINATORY and exclusionary content in Punjab’s textbooks has been flagged in Inclusive Education for a United...