Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Syeda Shehrbano Naqvi, the sub-divisional police officer in Gulbarg Lahore, stated Monday that the woman hounded by an agitated mob in the city’s Ichhra Bazaar was not forced to apologize for wearing the shirt with Arabic letters.
The cop also stated that the woman, who was later shown seated between two bearded clerics in one of the films, was transported to a safe area and her agreement was obtained before seeing those individuals.
“We did not coerce the woman to say anything. The consent was obtained, and she spoke on her behalf,” ASP Shehrbano stated on Tuesday during the Geo News show ‘Geo Pakistan’.
The ASP’s statement was in response to a question regarding why the woman was asked to apologise when she was not at fault in the situation, particularly after it was pointed out by social media users.
On February 25, the woman was saved by police enforcement just a few minutes after being encircled and tormented by an irate throng who wanted to punish her for reportedly wearing a dress with “holy verses” printed on it.