The fact-finding mission of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) stated on Friday that it was unable to locate “credible evidence” pertaining to the alleged rape of a student at a private college in Lahore that sparked massive student protests in October.
Police arrested a college security guard who was reportedly engaged in the rape of a private college student last month after social media users shared accounts of the purported event.
Outraged by the purported incident, students protested outside of various colleges in Lahore and other Punjabi cities and organized on social media.
It was “not possible to conclusively establish the veracity of widespread allegations that a student was sexually assaulted at a private college in Lahore earlier in October 2024,” according to a study by HRCP.
According to the study, “a series of events appears to have created acute suspicion and mistrust among students at Punjab College Campus 10” in relation to the claims. Among these are a number of social media posts containing conflicting remarks from public officials and unsubstantiated allegations of rape.
The mission also “strongly condemned the use of disproportionate force against hundreds of students at Campus 10 on 14 October, who had launched a mass protest demanding ‘justice’ for the alleged victim of rape but were subjected to police violence.”
On the other hand, it issued a warning, citing evidence of attempts by other parties to “take over the students’ story and use it to increase their own social media outreach.”
The statement said, “The mission observes that students’ response underlines their serious dissatisfaction with the state of security on campuses and perceived frequency of sexual harassment and victim blaming.” It also said that students’ “deep mistrust” of the police and the college administration’s lack of motivation to address the issue exacerbated their dissatisfaction.
Although the research emphasized that the “damage wrought by pervasive misinformation is grounds for strong, regular public campaigns on digital literacy and fact-checking,” it also stated that the students’ displeasure should not be minimized due to the apparent influence of misinformation.
The study recommended, among other things, a careful examination of the CCTV footage taken during the first two weeks of October at Campus 10 in Lahore.
Additionally, it suggested “holding the police accountable for detaining an individual accused of the alleged offence in the absence of a formal complaint against him and for violence against student protesters.”
After an investigation, the Punjab government and police previously insisted that the incident never happened.
Maryam Nawaz, the chief minister of Punjab, continued by accusing Imran Khan’s PTI of inciting students on social media to establish law and order in the nation.
