TikToker Ayesha Akram pardons all accused in Minar-i-Pakistan assault case

Additional session judge Gul Abbas issued an order for the hearing held on June 25 and said that the victim appeared before the court on June 3 and submitted an affidavit in which she said she did not wish to pursue the case further as she had forgiven "all her suspects for the sake of Allah and his Holy Prophet (PBUH)".

TikToker Ayesha Akram, who was mistreated at the Minar-e-Pakistan, a couple of years ago, has refused to pursue her case and has pardoned the perpetrators, Dawn reported on Monday. Additional session judge Gul Abbas issued an order for the hearing held on June 25 and said that the victim appeared before the court on June 3 and submitted an affidavit in which she said she did not wish to pursue the case further as she had forgiven "all her suspects for the sake of Allah and his Holy Prophet (PBUH)".

The female TikToker added that she had "no objection to the suspects' being acquitted". She stated she wanted to record the said statement "of her consent and without any fear or threat". Additional session judge Gul Abbas issued an order today of the hearing held on June 25, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com.

In August 2021, Lahore police booked hundreds of unidentified persons for assaulting and stealing from the TikToker and her companions at the city's Greater Iqbal Park on Independence Day. According to Dawn, the incident had come amid renewed focus on violence against women in Pakistan, following the murders of Noor Mukadam and Quratul Ain in July 2021.

Videos of the incident were shared widely on social media, prompting strong reactions from celebrities and politicians. Lorry Adda police had registered the first information report (FIR) against 400 unidentified persons for assaulting, molesting and stripping the TikToker on the eve of August 14, 2021, as per Dawn.

Later, the police also arrested an associate of the victim after she accused him of blackmail. Later, the police arrested an associate of the victim, who claimed that the TikToker had been blackmailing him.

The associate alleged that the TikToker had tried to extort money from him in exchange for dropping the charges. The TikToker had accused the associate of blackmail, leading to his arrest. Sections 354-A (assault or use of criminal force against a woman and stripping her of her clothes), 382 (theft after preparation made for causing death, hurt or restraint to commit the theft), 147 (rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) had been included in the FIR.

In August 2021, over 100 suspects were arrested in connection with the assault. However, 98 of them were released shortly after the victim and her team members failed to identify them during an identification parade in Lahore's Camp Jail. After six suspects were remanded into police custody, another eight suspects were arrested in October 2021 and were also sent on physical remand.

In Jan 2022, a Lahore sessions court granted post-arrest bail to a suspect accused of playing a key role in the blackmail and assault in connivance with the principal suspect. The next month, the Lahore High Court (LHC) granted post-arrest bail to four suspects, including the main suspect. In November 2022, a sessions court formally charged 16 suspects, including the main suspect, with the crime. The suspects pleaded not guilty and opted to stand trial. (ANI)

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