State to Pursue Prosecution in Usman Mirza Harassment Case

Barrister Maleeka Bokhari, a member of the ruling PTI and Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Justice, stated on Wednesday that the state would now pursue prosecution in the Usman Mirza harassment case “regardless of recent developments” relating to the victim’s evidence.
“Irrefutable video & forensic evidence on record- anyone harassing & stripping a woman must face the full force of the law,” said Maleeka.

According to Maleeka, a high-level meeting was held at the Ministry of Law and Justice on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s special direction, which was headed by Law Minister Barrister Forough Naseem.
.“PM Imran Khan has directed the state to pursue cases of abuse and harassment of women,” she added. “The state stands with all the affected women and children.”

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Meeting held at @MoLawJusticeof1
The State will pursue prosecution in the Usman Mirza case irrespective of recent developments relating to victim's testimony.Irrefutable video & forensic evidence on record- anyone harrassing & stripping a woman must face full force of the law. pic.twitter.com/SHRMCzhXk1

— Maleeka Bokhari (@MalBokhari) January 12, 2022

She stressed that the perpetrators of woman and child abuse would not escape the law.

Inspectors general (IG) Islamabad Police, DIG Operations, SSP Investigations, and prosecutors were also present during the meeting.
“We have solid evidence in this case,” Bokhari added. “It is the responsibility of the government and the police to bring this case to a logical conclusion. We will do our best to bring full justice to the victims and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

“At the next hearing, all the evidence will be presented in court,” the barrister said. “The victims will be provided full security.”

The victims in the couple harassment case retracted their statements against the accused, including the main suspect Usman Mirza, in an unexpected change of events on Tuesday.

Usman Mirza Case

It’s worth noting that in July of last year, a video showed the primary accused in the case, Usman Mirza, severely thrashing and tormenting the young couple in a room full of other males leaked on social media.

The Islamabad police arrested Mirza and filed a first information report (FIR) in the case just hours after the video went viral.

In the Islamabad couple harassment case, seven people were indicted, including Usman Mirza.

Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani  indicted Hafiz Ataur Rehman, Farhan Shaheen, Adaras Qayyum Butt, Rehan Hassan Mughal, Umar Bilal, and Mohib Bangash.

Furthermore, the Islamabad High Court dismissed the three accused’s bail applications and ordered the authorities to complete Usman Mirza’s trial case within two months.