Canadian expat files case against 2 men in Islamabad for sexually harassing her
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A Canadian model and humanitarian worker registered a case on Tuesday against two suspects for alleged sexual harassment and infringement of her rights.
A first information report registered at the Sihala police station quoted the woman, identified as Lahore-based Assma Galuta, saying she was in Bahria Town Phase 7 when two men in a car began "harassing me, telling me to get into the car".
"When I told them to leave me alone, they started laughing. They blocked me from getting into my Uber and then followed my Uber from Bahria Town to Islamabad, trying to block the driver and even asking the driver for my drop-off location," she stated.
Because they were following her, she said, she had to change her drop-off location and hide in a nearby mall until she thought they had gone. "Then I went to my AirBnB," she said, adding that she had their vehicle details and a video of them as proof.
Read more: The Canadian model who filed a harassment case in Islamabad slams critics for victim-blaming
The suspects have been booked under Sections 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or imprisonment), 354 (assault or use of criminal force to woman and stripping her of her clothes), and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Shakeel Qarar is an Islamabad-based reporter for Dawn News (TV), having been with the organization since 2012. His reporting covers crime, law and order, and security, with a specific focus on the Ministry of Interior and its subordinate agencies. He can be found on X at @Qarar009.
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Apr 17, 2019 12:00pm
This is another reason for brain drain.
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Apr 17, 2019 12:08pm
What a shame, need to put them behind bars for a long time.
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Apr 17, 2019 12:15pm
shall be made a test case ,
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Apr 17, 2019 12:18pm
The world gone completely crazy
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Apr 17, 2019 12:19pm
They should be punished and have maximum sentenced
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Apr 17, 2019 12:19pm
Well done brave lady! Taking the time and trouble to report it.
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Apr 17, 2019 12:25pm
have they been arrested or not??????
lets wait and see.....
i wish long jail term for the harassers.
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Apr 17, 2019 12:29pm
Bravo. What a woman. Take a bow mam.
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Apr 17, 2019 12:31pm
Brave lady. Hope the Government would punish the culprits.
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Apr 17, 2019 12:32pm
very good. These assaulters should be punished.
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Apr 17, 2019 12:39pm
What a shame. We have to take these crimes seriously in our society.
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Apr 17, 2019 12:39pm
Lock them for 10 yrs
That will teach em a Lesson
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Apr 17, 2019 12:41pm
Thank you for standing up.
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Apr 17, 2019 12:49pm
Humanitarian who?
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Apr 17, 2019 12:52pm
Are we still living in the dark ages?
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Apr 17, 2019 12:54pm
I think, the tourism ministry/ Government should launch some online complaint center regarding the problems of tourists, so that they can submit their grievances promptly on spot. The online grievance portal should have mobile application and also accept pictorial and video evidences. A dedicated team should be present 24/7 to address these complaints and to liaison with other departments regarding the complaints.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:00pm
She is doing the right thing by pursuing these perverts and potential rapists through legal avenue . Pakistani authorities need to take this type of incidents seriously if they want to attract tourists to the country. Personal safety is the primary concern of any visitor and such elements in the society will ensure that few people come to Pakistan.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:02pm
Upload video on YouTube.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:03pm
@Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad, erm..YES
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Apr 17, 2019 01:06pm
The matter should be properly investigated, in case the lady has solid proof, no leniency should take place.
No compromise between parties should be accepted by police as a result of any influence by elites of the country.
Gordon E. Walker
SA
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Apr 17, 2019 01:10pm
Fully support to our Canadian sister thank you reporting this is how new change is brought into action.
Bravo Sister. Slowly but surely we will bring back the Pakistan of 1950 and 60 our Golden Era of Pakistan.
Long live our Canadian sister. Love from Pakistan.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:12pm
Disgusting behaviour by these savages, this kind of vile treatment towards women is all too common nowadays, I never hear the Mullah's come out and condemn this outrage, they only seem to want to paralyse the country and disrupt the people going about their everyday life, whenever they stage a sit in for the most trivial excuse.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:13pm
Most Pakistani bloggers support you sister we will bring out a change thank you Sister. Love from Pakistan you are such great soul sorry for the trouble and thank you for reporting sister.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:13pm
@Ahmed, nothing will happen!
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Apr 17, 2019 01:14pm
And what about case against police who were asking for bribe just so she could register the case? why did not the police act itself, and went to her, knowing an incident had happened? why there is no 911 type of number in Islamabad? and if there is one, why did they not act? Why someone has to go to the 'police station' to lodge a complaint. This is the issue, police is not getting reformed, even under PTI government of Imran Khan.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:14pm
@Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad, What do you think, Doctor?
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Apr 17, 2019 01:16pm
Thses are not uncommon in New Delhi, India.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:22pm
Wish if their mothers and sisters could watch them in the act. Need speedy punishment for these jerks.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:22pm
People always suggest harsher punishments as a deterrent, while the main reason they do such things is the confidence that they will not face any consequences.
What we need is improving police training and investigative abilities, and advertise criminals getting punished so they know they won't get away with it.
Even a death sentence doesn't deter anyone from any crime, if the criminal knows he will not be caught, or convicted and sentenced.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:25pm
@MHZ, This event plus the terrorists activities in Quetta and Peshawar are a part of the long-term plan to spoil the image of Pakistan that it's not a safe place. Our Internal enemies need to be wiped out completely and our intelligence agencies need to be upgraded the sooner the better.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:29pm
The identities of the offenders should be made public. We are very sorry, Assma.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:30pm
Good she photographed the culprits and their vehicle. Now, police must do its job without any reservation. Let us see how efficient is the Islamabad police.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:31pm
I hope the lady doesn't get killed!
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Apr 17, 2019 01:31pm
Antisocial behaviour should not be tolerated. A big hindrance in way to promote tourism. Laws should be strict to stop these chaves.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:33pm
@Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad,
"Are we still living in the dark ages?"
You still don't know.?? I cannot believe it....
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Apr 17, 2019 01:35pm
Brave lady fights back...
Gordon D. Walker
Canada
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Apr 17, 2019 01:37pm
Moral of the story : Never give up in difficulties. Even if there are troubles around, sort out ways to get out of it. Females' education is indispensable for their safety.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:46pm
Jail them for 10 years and register them as sex offenders.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:47pm
@Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad,
Yes you certainly are
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Apr 17, 2019 01:54pm
Lady you got more "guts" than us men! I hope police are successful and the judge is Stern in his verdict.
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Apr 17, 2019 01:59pm
If these two are poor then that’s gonna be a doomsday for them. If rich, nothing will happen
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Apr 17, 2019 01:59pm
This is how tourism will be prompted in Pakistan by this kind of news in world. Immediate action must be taken fir these people definitely they are from elite class family who have connection with pplice and political parties. Very few chance of justice in this case
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Apr 17, 2019 02:05pm
Public shaming in media is an effective tool for this
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Apr 17, 2019 02:19pm
Few years ago, I saw with my own eyes a blonde women with colored eyes being harrassed by two men in Lahore she did not wear any skirts and was not walking alone at night, she was with her Pakistani husband but I saw the boys were teasing her and passing comments on her then my mother shouted slogans at those boys and they immediately fled with the vehicle, the face of the blonde women then looked like as if she has spent the last few hours crying, she was so sad and worried, street harassment is a grave problem that many women in Pakistan face, I really want a harassment free Pakistan.
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Apr 17, 2019 02:27pm
We need to make our laws more strict and most importantly implement them!!! otherwise, we will end up in a situation like our neighbors. We don't want harassment and rape cases when more tourists start coming to Pakistan.....
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Apr 17, 2019 02:31pm
Sad to read this. How can we are going to promote tourism in country when values in our society are deteriorating in such a manner.
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Apr 17, 2019 02:45pm
great job for reporting it. These miscreants at least deserve jail for life.
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Apr 17, 2019 03:00pm
The lady claim can be reverified by the city cameras installed in Baharia Town on route to said Mall. Hope matter will be taken seriously if we want to get rid of criminality from our society.
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Apr 17, 2019 03:01pm
I believe she is telling the truth. This is the sickness of our minds. Why a lone lady still scared to go outside in our society? Culprits should be caught by authorities & properly punished for this kind of harassment. It's a shame
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Apr 17, 2019 03:12pm
Very brave, well done indeed. These desperate men went way over the top and deserve to be punished
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Apr 17, 2019 03:27pm
arrest and lock them for ever
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Apr 17, 2019 03:36pm
How can you expect foreign tourists when the situation is dangerous like this.
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Apr 17, 2019 03:47pm
The POLCIEMEN who failed to act or take her complaint seriously AND these TWO ABUSERS should be made an example.
They should go to jail for a very long time I hope.
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Apr 17, 2019 04:09pm
Consolidate you Law & Order first then invite tourists to your country. Such people are black spots on the face of Pakistan and easily get away from exemplary punishments due to vivid flaws in Laws.
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Apr 17, 2019 04:28pm
Have similar laws to curb Stalking in the UK.
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Apr 17, 2019 04:35pm
Pakistan government invite food bloggers like Mark Weins,Travor James and others to promote tourism...who will visit Pakistan with such incidents?
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Apr 17, 2019 04:36pm
SHAME, If police has their video, immediate action must be taken and make it public, humiliate and punish them to avoid these to happen in future.
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Apr 17, 2019 05:08pm
More women must file such complaints when harassed and harsh punishment should be meted out for this misogynistic culture to change.
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Apr 17, 2019 05:26pm
This happened even though she was wearing a headscarf?
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Apr 17, 2019 05:35pm
What is happening to this society, this younger generation, what are they going to do in future, I literally can’t seem to understand.
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Apr 17, 2019 05:47pm
@Siddhartha, if a woman was walking alone in Delhi that could happen but no one would follow a woman in Uber and do this type of thing in Delhi.
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Apr 17, 2019 05:58pm
CAll Rangers
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Apr 17, 2019 06:22pm
@Rehman A., Tourists grievance portal is a good idea but should only be used to lodge general complaints about tourist facilities and accommodation etc. Complaints regarding commission of crimes must always be lodged with the police.
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Apr 17, 2019 06:49pm
Don't let them go free . Enough is enough
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Apr 17, 2019 06:51pm
Shameful harassment.
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Apr 17, 2019 07:11pm
@anwarsher,
Why government? Why not the police.
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Apr 17, 2019 07:13pm
That is so sad.
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Apr 17, 2019 08:23pm
Only 2 men?
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Apr 17, 2019 08:37pm
@Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad,
USA has a lot of rape case. USA still living in dark age
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Apr 17, 2019 08:39pm
Courageous lady. Interior ministry please take notice
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Apr 17, 2019 08:43pm
@Gordon E. Walker, Okay sir. Any other instruction?
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Apr 17, 2019 09:11pm
Many years ago, I guess in mid 90's one of our friends traveled to Pakistan for Mission work and she had a local representation too. A young man at the hotel where she was staying a couple of times harassed her and took advantage of her while she was in the room. Upon complaining to the local host and the hotel authortoies, the young man was terminated from his job.
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Apr 17, 2019 09:27pm
Shame them publicly if they are found guilty and register them as sex offenders and make them register themselves and check in with local police stations as a probation for a year.
Let every community know when they are amongst them.
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Apr 17, 2019 10:12pm
Those men could be protectors of purity of world pure country
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Apr 17, 2019 10:22pm
I am not buying just her version of the episode.
There is more to this incident than meets the eye, or the ear! Wait till the accused are allowed to speak.
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Apr 18, 2019 01:53am
@Falcon1, I suppose she would need 4 witnesses to convince you!
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Apr 18, 2019 06:02am
soon, thiss will also be forgotten without any punishment to those who do not respect women/
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Apr 18, 2019 08:52am
Life imprisonment.
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Apr 18, 2019 09:31am
@Ak, This is not America where we publicly humiliate people for lifetime.
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Apr 18, 2019 10:47am
An immediate investigation and swift sentencing if the accused found guilty is the way to go. Pakistan government has to make sure that any and every kind of harassment is adequately punished to deter this menace.
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Apr 18, 2019 09:13pm
Such offensive public behavior be made punishable by time behind bars and fat fine...
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Apr 19, 2019 12:22am
@MHZ, Seriously. Behind bars for a long time. Given they did wrong and need to be punished but behind bars for a long time is a bit of exaggeration from your end.
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Apr 19, 2019 12:55am
@Abdul 2, Look inside before pointing fingers at others.
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Apr 19, 2019 02:15am
Sad and Shameful.
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Apr 19, 2019 09:58am
The families of the two criminals should be informed of their behaviour. These people are the cause tourists will not come. Government must make them an example.
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Apr 19, 2019 10:01am
@Babu, Just another crime. Common in USA.
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Apr 19, 2019 10:06am
Shame to these men who have no respect for women.
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Apr 19, 2019 12:08pm
She won't get justice. Time waste.
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Apr 19, 2019 12:08pm
She need 4 witnesses
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Apr 20, 2019 04:25am
Good luck on getting justice. That place is not a North American, European country. Non of the Muslim country there is justice for women.
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Apr 20, 2019 04:28am
These men have no respect for their own mothers, daughters, wives what do u expect they would have for others.
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