ISLAMABAD: The woman who was found bound and gagged on a roadside in the capital on Wednesday and claimed to be a foreign national turned out to be a permanent resident of Rawalpindi.

Police officers told Dawn that a special committee had been formed under the supervision of a senior superintendent of police (SSP), comprising the subdivisional police officer, station house officers of Aabpara and women police stations and an official from the Special Sexual Offence Investigation Unit after the investigators remained clueless to establish the nationality of the woman who claimed to be from Belgium.

The committee took the woman to the Nadra headquarters for identification as no travel record was available with the FIA and the embassy. Through her facial recognition and fingerprint impression, the woman was identified as a Pakistani national and a permanent resident of Rawalpindi.

Earlier, medico-legal examination of the woman was conducted at Polyclinic to establish her allegation that she was raped. She was then shifted to the Women Police Station and kept under protective custody there.

The woman is still not ready to give a statement to the police which are working to ascertain the motive behind her claim to be a foreign national and under which circumstances she was left on the roadside, the officers added.

The woman was found bound and gagged on a roadside at G-6/1-3. After getting information, a police team reached the spot and shifted her to a hospital.

She had introduced herself as a Belgian national and alleged that she had been living with a man who repeatedly raped her. The woman was unable to produce any identity document as she had no belongings with her.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2024

Opinion

From hard to harder

From hard to harder

Instead of ‘hard state’ turning even harder, citizens deserve a state that goes soft on them in delivering democratic and development aspirations.

Editorial

Canal unrest
Updated 03 Apr, 2025

Canal unrest

With rising water scarcity in Indus system, it is crucial to move towards a consensus-driven policymaking process.
Iran-US tension
03 Apr, 2025

Iran-US tension

THE Trump administration’s threats aimed at Iran do not bode well for global peace, and unless Washington changes...
Flights to history
03 Apr, 2025

Flights to history

MOHENJODARO could have been the forgotten gold we desperately need. Instead, this 5,000-year-old well of antiquity ...
Eid amidst crises
Updated 31 Mar, 2025

Eid amidst crises

Until the Muslim world takes practical steps to end these atrocities, these besieged populations will see no joy.
Women’s rights
Updated 01 Apr, 2025

Women’s rights

Such judgements, and others directly impacting women’s rights should be given more airtime in media.
Not helping
Updated 02 Apr, 2025

Not helping

If it's committed to peace in Balochistan, the state must draw a line between militancy and legitimate protest.