A trio of foreign tourists—Alex Sidney from Italy, Charlie West from the UK, and Motahhareh Abbasi from Iran—have reported serious assault and sexual harassment by Punjab police during their cycling journey from Sadiqabad towards Lahore on January 25.
Despite having a police escort assigned for their security, the cyclists claim they were assaulted by ASI Liaqat, who allegedly attempted to snatch a camera and grabbed one of the cyclists by the hair. A video capturing one of the assaults has surfaced, revealing the alleged misconduct.
Alex reported that the police instructed the driver to run over Motahhareh when she tried to block the vehicle’s path. The tourists faced multiple incidents of assault and harassment by Punjab police, including being hit by police vehicles and motorcycles, with the police claiming they were going the wrong way.
Alex added,
“We entered Punjab on Jan 25 and started having assaults and harassment from Jan 26. In earlier assaults, we were hit by police vehicles and motorcycles as they continued telling us that we were going the wrong way. We told them that we were going to a hotel on the national highway. They would try to knock us down.”
The tourists attempted to register a complaint at Ahmedpur Lamma Police Station, but the desk officer refused, suggesting seeking help through social media. Motahhareh has also alleged serious sexual harassment by Pakistani policemen, stating that they asked for her WhatsApp number and sent inappropriate messages, with the situation worsening in Punjab.
She added,
“Many times, they asked me for my WhatsApp number and kept on insisting. When I asked them the reason, they would start insulting me. At the start, I gave my phone number to some of them and they started asking for pictures and sending creepy messages. For the last one month, I have been receiving creepy messages from Pakistani policemen.”
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