Pakistan Deputy PM Ishaq Dar’s relative arrested in foreign nationals’ rape case

The police in Pakistan's Punjab province on Thursday arrested four people, including a close relative of Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, in connection with the abduction and rape of two foreign nationals, according to ARY News.

Following their arrest, a court handed the four suspects to police on a five-day physical remand. The accused have been identified as Hassan Raza, Sikandar Khan, Sajid Ali, and Raza Dar, a relative of the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan, who also holds the foreign affairs portfolio.

In a statement before a magistrate, the two women said they had come to Pakistan to meet friends and were abducted, held for ransom, and sexually assaulted.

The media report named the two women, but Firstpost is withholding their identities in view of local law and the sensitivity of the matter.

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As per the FIR, Raza is accused of demanding ransom while the other accused allegedly assaulted the complainants.

Sources told ARY that Raza was named as the prime accused in the case and the three other suspects were named later in supplementary statements.

Woman's father reported incident from Spain: Report

The police began investigating the case after the father of one of the women called a helpline from Spain and reported the incident, according to Dawn.

The Punjab government said the police dispatched a team of senior officials, rescued the women, and arrested four suspects within two hours.

DIG Faisal Kamran told Dawn that the accused were tracked down and arrested using cameras installed across the city.

Kamran said the authorities are in touch with the Dutch embassy and that the complainant's travel documents have been completed, allowing her to leave at the earliest opportunity. Without going into specifics, he said the case remains under investigation.

Dawn identified one of the complainants as being from the Netherlands and the other from Venezuela.