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The students were hurt on Monday and Tuesday in the eastern city
of Lahore in Punjab province after reports about the alleged
rape spread on social media.
Students initially protested on the campus of the private
college but later gathered outside the provincial assembly,
where they clashed with police.
The college administration denied there was an assault, as did
the young woman's parents.
Sexual violence against women is common in Pakistan but is
underreported because of the stigma attached to it in the
conservative country. Protests about sexual violence against
women are uncommon.
A special committee formed by the provincial government said the
alleged victim said she slipped at her home on Oct. 2 and was
taken to a hospital, where she was treated until Oct. 11. It
said the student was absent from college from Oct. 3 to 15.
The Federal Investigation Agency said it was looking into the
case, including identifying people who spread the reports on
social media.
Punjab's chief minister, the province's most senior official,
said no rape had taken place.
Maryam Nawaz, who is the niece of the current prime minister and
daughter of a former prime minister, asserted that a vile and
dangerous plan was hatched to mislead students.
“An incident happened and a security guard was arrested and
accused of being involved,” Nawaz told a press conference on
Wednesday.
The Sustainable Social Development Organization said last month
that there were 7,010 rape cases reported in Pakistan in 2023,
almost 95% of them in Punjab.
“However, due to social stigmas in Pakistan that discourage
women from getting help, there is a high chance that due to
underreporting the actual number of cases may be even higher,"
it said.
This week's protests came less than a month after a woman said
she was gang-raped when on duty during a polio vaccination drive
in southern Sindh province.
Police arrested three men. Her husband threw her out of the
house after the reported assault, saying she had tarnished the
family name.
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