'Quit Immediately': Resignation Calls Grow For Pakistan's Ishaq Dar After Relative's Arrest In Gangrape
'Quit Immediately': Resignation Calls Grow For Pakistan's Ishaq Dar After Relative's Arrest In Gangrape Published By, Last Updated: July 05, 2026, 11:44 IST Senator Faisal
'Quit Immediately': Resignation Calls Grow For Pakistan's Ishaq Dar After Relative's Arrest In Gangrape Published By, Last Updated: July 05, 2026, 11:44 IST Senator Faisal Vawda alleged efforts to shield the prime suspect and urged Ishaq Dar to resign, saying the case has damaged Pakistan's international image. Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (Photo: Reuters) A political storm has erupted in Pakistan after Senator Faisal Vawda called for Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to step down following the arrest of one of Dar’s relatives in connection with the alleged abduction and gangrape of two foreign women in Lahore. According to news agency PTI, Vawda, who is widely regarded as having close ties to Pakistan’s military establishment, accused both the federal government and the Punjab provincial administration of attempting to shield the minister’s relative in the high-profile case. The incident involves two women, one from the Netherlands and the other from Venezuela, who were allegedly abducted by a group of men in Lahore on June 29 before being gangraped. Police have so far arrested four suspects, while another accused remains on the run.
A Lahore court on Friday remanded the four arrested men to five days in police custody to facilitate further investigation. Among those taken into custody is Muhammad Raza Dar, whom investigators have identified as the principal suspect in the case. Police sources told PTI that Raza Dar is Ishaq Dar’s grandson. During the investigation, police said they found that Raza Dar had first met the two women in Singapore last year. The three were reportedly associated through a cryptocurrency business venture, and investigators said Raza Dar later arranged business visas that enabled the women to travel to Pakistan. Reacting to the developments, Vawda alleged that Pakistan was being “run like a family corporation" and questioned why Ishaq Dar continued to hold two of the country’s highest offices while his “alleged grandson" faced such grave accusations. “He (Raza Dar) was arrested only after the intervention of the relevant foreign embassy. After such serious allegations, how can Ishaq Dar continue to represent Pakistan before the world as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister?" Vawda said in a post on X, as quoted by PTI.
He further argued that the allegations had damaged Pakistan’s standing internationally and called on Dar to resign. “If there is any concern for Pakistan and its international image, Ishaq Dar should resign immediately," Vawda said. According to the report, Vawda does not belong to any political party despite being elected to the Senate with the backing of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), both coalition partners in the federal government. He is also widely viewed as a political figure close to Pakistan’s military establishment. Vawda went on to allege that efforts were being made to alter the direction of the investigation. “Attempts are being made to limit the case to extortion rather than rape, while arrangements are underway to send the foreign victims back to their country as quickly as possible," he claimed. He also criticised the response of Pakistan’s political leadership, saying neither the federal government nor politicians from the ruling alliance had publicly condemned the alleged assault. The allegations made by Vawda have added a political dimension to an already sensitive criminal investigation, with the case drawing attention because of the alleged familial connection between the prime suspect and one of Pakistan’s top ministers.
The BriefWire