Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has come under fire after his grandson was arrested as the prime suspect in a gang rape case of two foreign women in Lahore.
Senator Faisal Foda demanded the resignation of Ishaq Dar over the alleged involvement of his grandson, Mohammad Reza Dar, in the rape of two women – one from Venezuela and the other from the Netherlands – on June 29. Track updates on Khamenei’s funeral
The agency reported that the police arrested four men, while one of them escaped. A Lahore court sent the men, including Ishaq’s grandson, to police custody for five days on Friday.
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Reda reportedly met the women in Singapore last year and they were partners in a cryptocurrency project. He arranged work visas for them to visit Pakistan, PTI reported.
Senator Foda, who has close links to the country’s military establishment, on Saturday called for Ishak’s resignation over the alleged kidnapping and gang rape of two foreign women.
Vawda also accused the federal government and the Punjab provincial government of protecting the minister’s relative in this high-profile case.
“Pakistan is run as a family business”
Launching a sharp attack on Ishaq, Senator Vuda on Saturday said Pakistan was “run like a family business”, highlighted the gang rape incident and described the prime suspect as the “alleged grandson” of Ishaq Dar.
He added, “He (Reza Dar) was arrested only after the intervention of the relevant foreign embassy. After these serious accusations, 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.
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“If there is any concern for Pakistan and its international image, Ishaq Dar should resign immediately,” he said.
Foda is said to be close to the Pakistani military establishment, and was elected as a senator on the votes of both the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which are coalition partners in the federal government. But he does not represent any political party.
“Attempts are being made to limit the case to blackmail and not rape, while arrangements are being made to return the foreign victims to their countries as soon as possible,” Voda also said on Saturday.
Ishaq Dar is among the senior Pakistani leaders and was part of the Pakistani mediation team between Iran and the United States. He joined Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir in Tehran on Friday as prominent foreign dignitaries gathered to honor slain Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.