MANDI BAHAUDDIN (LAHORE MIRROR) — Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday advocated a tit-for-tat response to incidents of assault in the province, saying she had advised victims to respond to attacks in kind.
Addressing an Honhaar scholarship and laptop distribution ceremony at a university in Mandi Bahauddin, she said action would be taken against offenders regardless of their political affiliations, adding that even members of her own party would not be spared.
“Governing through fear is not governance; keep one principle and remain consistent,” she said.
Referring to a fatal incident in Multan in which a man ran over an orphaned teenager, Ms Nawaz said the incident continued to haunt her.
She also cited cases involving an assault on a woman riding a scooter in Lahore and an attack on a petrol pump employee.
In the Lahore incident, video footage showed a man overtaking a female scooter rider on a busy road, blocking her path with his motorcycle and assaulting her.
Police arrested the suspect with the help of footage and data from dozens of cameras operated by the Punjab Safe Cities Authority. However, a court in Lahore ordered his release if he was not required in any other case.
In a separate incident at a petrol pump in Jubilee Town, a man allegedly assaulted an employee after the latter asked him not to smoke on the premises. The suspect, who had arrived in an SUV for a refill, reportedly attacked the salesman before fleeing.
Ms Nawaz reiterated that her government stood with the oppressed, saying she was not concerned about which cases might be registered against her in the future.
