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The Lahore High Court (LHC) announced constituting a full court bench to hear the case of different incidents of harassment of female students, GeoTV reported.
LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum on Friday directed the authorities to collect the statement of the alleged victim linked to claims of rape in Lahore which sparked violent protests in and across Lahore that are continuing to this date. GeoTV reported that around 400 individuals protesting harassment and sexual abuse against female students at educational institutes have been arrested in Rawalpindi alone as Section 144 has been imposed in the province, banning gatherings and demonstrations. Several hundred others have been booked in Lahore and other cities for the violation of Section 144. Due to the protests spreading far and wide, all private and public schools, universities and colleges in the Punjab province of Pakistan remained closed yesterday. As protests continue to take place, the LHC took up the matter of three separate incidents including the protests against alleged rape, an alleged suicide at Punjab University, and a case of harassment at Lahore College of Women University (LCWU). During the hearing, Punjab Inspector General of Police Usman Anwer and other officials appeared before the court with a complete report sought by the court. LHC Chief Justice (CJ) Neelum expressed displeasure with the police chief over their failure to prevent the videos from going viral on social media and controlling enraged students from taking to the streets, as per GeoTv. She asked the reason for the delay in reaching out to the relevant agencies for restricting the viral videos to which Anwer informed the court that the matter had been brought to the notice of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. CJ Neelum asked if the students were in such a "state of mind" that they could join their colleges again. She directed the authorities to regain the trust of the parents. In the various orders passed, the LHC CJ also ordered the authorities concerned to prohibit the presence of men wherever there are female students in the educational institutes. While directing the authorities to take the statement from the girl who is being named in the claims pertaining to the alleged rape, CJ Neelum warned against pressurising the student in this regard. The court also ordered the formation of a committee headed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general (DG) to probe all three cases. The ongoing protests saw the students ransacking a hostel after forcefully entering the hostel premises, pelting stones and damaging the vehicles there. As per GeoTV, the turmoil eventually warranted a strong response from Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz who, while speaking to the media persons on Wednesday, announced a crackdown on those spreading fake news regarding the rape of a student. (ANI)
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