Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz urges assault victims to respond in kind

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said on Tuesday that people who are attacked in the province should answer in the same way, and that she had personally advised victims to do so. She was speaking at a ceremony in Mandi Bahauddin to distribute Hon'haar scholarships and laptops at the University of Rasul.

She referred to two recent incidents. In the first, video footage from Lahore showed a man cutting off a woman riding a scooter on a busy road, blocking her with his motorbike and beating her. Police arrested him using footage and data from dozens of cameras run by the Punjab Safe Cities Authority. A Lahore court directed that he be released if he was not wanted in any other case.

The second incident involved a petrol pump worker in Jubilee Town. According to reports, the worker asked a customer not to smoke at the filling station. The customer allegedly got out of his SUV, beat the worker and drove away.

According to Minute Mirror, Ms Maryam said she had contacted the woman and told her the state stood with her, and that she wanted the same number of slaps returned to the attacker. She said she had brought both men before her and told the petrol pump employee to respond in the same manner. She said the aim was to make those who consider themselves powerful understand the consequences of humiliating weaker people.

She said offenders would not be spared even if they belonged to her own party, and that governing through fear is not governance. According to Daily Times, she said leaders should keep one principle and remain consistent. She also said a fatal case in Multan, in which an orphaned teenager was run over, continued to weigh on her.

The chief minister criticised the release of suspects on bail in such cases and said courts should award punishments that make offenders realise the seriousness of their actions. She said she was prepared to go to jail for the safety and justice of Punjab's people, and was not worried about any case that might be filed against her. She added that she would meet the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Justice of Punjab if necessary to raise public safety and justice.

At the event, she inaugurated the University of Rasul and Rasul Medical College. In Mandi Bahauddin, 50 students of public universities and 38 of private and federal universities received Hon'haar Scholarships, as did 15 medical college students and 368 college students in the district. Under the CM Laptop Scheme, 5,531 students from Mandi Bahauddin and Gujrat received laptops. Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat briefed participants on both schemes.