MANDI BAHAUDDIN: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday called for a tit-for-tat response to incidents of assault in the province, saying she had advised victims to respond in kind to those who attacked them.
Addressing a Honhaar Scholarship and Laptop Distribution Ceremony at a university in Mandi Bahauddin, she vowed that no offender would be spared, even if the individual belonged to her own political party.
“Governing through fear is not governance; maintain one principle and remain consistent,” she said.
Recalling a fatal incident in Multan in which a man ran over an orphaned teenager, Maryam said the tragedy continued to trouble her.
She also highlighted two other incidents involving violence against a female motorcycle rider in Lahore and an employee at a petrol station.
In the Lahore incident, video footage showed a man overtaking a woman riding a scooter, blocking her path with his motorcycle and allegedly assaulting her on a busy road.
Police subsequently arrested the suspect with the help of footage and data collected from dozens of cameras operated by the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA). However, a Lahore court directed that he be released if he was not required in any other case.
In another incident, a man allegedly assaulted a petrol pump employee at a filling station in Jubilee Town after being asked not to smoke on the premises.
According to reports, the suspect had arrived at the station to refuel his SUV. Following the exchange with the salesman, he reportedly got out of his vehicle, beat the employee and fled.
Reaffirming her government’s position, the chief minister said the provincial administration would stand with the oppressed, adding that she was not concerned about which cases might be registered against her in the future.
