Foreign tourists on a cycling tour in Punjab accused the Punjab Police of sexual harassment and assault on multiple occasions. Three foreign tourists on a cycling tour from Sadiqabad to Lahore have accused the Punjab Police of assaulting and harassing them ever since they entered the jurisdiction on January 25th, 2023.
A video of an attack on them by Punjab Police appeared on X on Saturday. Later it was disclosed that it was one of the many assaults that happened against them. Alex Sidney of Italy, Charlie West of the UK, and Motahhareh Abbasi of Iran are facing continuous assault ever since they entered Punjab.
Alex embarked on a cycling journey from Italy in 2022 and traversed through Europe over the past two years. While en route to Pakistan, he was joined by Mohtahhare in Tehran. The duo entered Pakistan through the Balochistan-Iran border, cycling through the provinces of Balochistan and Sindh.
Upon reaching Karachi, Charlie West, arriving from the UK, joined them on their cycling expedition.
“On Saturday, when we left our hotel in Sadiqbad in the morning, we were escorted by police. We were having breakfast at a roadside hotel, when another police van, different from our escort, reached there. We had never seen these three policemen before,” said Alex while talking to a local media outlet.
Alex said that an ASI named Liaqat shouted at an Iranian cyclist to stand up, and upon refusal, he started shouting at him.
“When we asked him why, he did not give a reply and instead tried to snatch the camera. He grabbed me from my hair and threw me down on the floor. He tried to hit me with a large stick but went back towards his vehicle having my camera,” alleged the Italian tourist. They snatched the camera of the Iranian cyclist that had all the evidence. When confronted they even threatened to run over the van on him.
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Motahhareh claims “On Jan 26, I fell and got injured when a policeman stopped his motorcycle suddenly in front of her. And it was quite deliberate. I fell and injured my leg while my heavy bags fell on me.”
She added that policemen insisted her on giving them their Whatsapp number. She gave to a few of them but started receiving creepy messages from them with some even asking for her pictures. Adding that the worst harassment they faced was in Punjab.
They said that they felt secure as a common citizen traveling without Police. The Police escort given to them was also not coperative.