Pakistan: Two women gang raped during robbery bid in Lahore's Defence area

Lahore: Two women were allegedly gang raped during a robbery bid in Lahore's Defence area, according to police.

The victims were staying at a rented accommodation. There were three sisters and a friend.

The incident took place on Tuesday midnight, when three suspected robbers barged into the house, reported The Express Tribune.

The tenants in the flat were held hostage at gunpoint as two robbers sexually assaulted two girls while one stood on guard.

The victims were also robbed off their valuables, which included three mobile phones and Rs 45,000 in cash.

When the other residents of the building came to the rescue after hearing the victims' cries, two of suspects fled.

The remaining suspect, identified as Abid Ali, was arrested. A case has been registered and medical examination of the victims have been conducted. A manhunt is underway to nab the absconders, the police said.

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has taken notice of the incident and sought report from CCPO Fayyaz Ahmad Dev, The Express Tribune report said.

Last year, a French woman of Pakistan origin was sexually assaulted in front of her children after dragging her out of her car, which had broken down during night travel on the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway after it ran out of fuel.

The anti-terrorism court (ATC) awarded death sentence, life imprisonment and multiple jail terms to Abid Ali alias Malhi and Shafqat Ali alias Bagga, on March 20, 2021.

The latest gang rape comes just days after the fourth Gender Parity Report (2019 and 2020) revealed that there is a spike of 15 per cent in such incidents in Pakistan's Punjab in 2020.

According to the report, women in Punjab province faced 8,797 cases of sexual assault, harassment, rape, kidnapping and domestic violence in 2020 and 8,767 in 2019. (UNI)