Pakistani Senator Faisal Vawda has demanded Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar's resignation after his alleged grandson was arrested in the Lahore gangrape case.
Four suspects have been arrested in connection with the alleged abduction and gangrape of two foreign women, while one accused remains absconding.
Vawda accused the federal and Punjab governments of protecting Dar's relative
A Political storm has erupted in Pakistan after Senator Faisal Vawda demanded the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar following the arrest of Dar's alleged grandson in a high-profile case involving the abduction and gangrape of two foreign women in Lahore.
The case has triggered widespread outrage and renewed scrutiny of political influence over criminal investigations, with Vawda accusing both the federal government and the Punjab provincial administration of attempting to shield a politically connected suspect.
According to police, the alleged assault took place on June 29 when two women—one from the Netherlands and the other from Venezuela—were reportedly abducted by a group of men and gangraped in Lahore. Authorities have so far arrested four suspects, while one accused remains absconding. A Lahore court on Friday remanded the arrested men to five days of police custody to facilitate further investigation.
Among those arrested is Muhammad Raza Dar, identified by police sources as the prime suspect in the case. Investigators have said that Raza Dar allegedly met the two women in Singapore last year and that they were involved together in a cryptocurrency venture. Police claim he subsequently arranged business visas for the women to travel to Pakistan.
The accused has been identified by police sources as the grandson of Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, although the minister has not publicly commented on the matter.
Reacting to the development, Senator Faisal Vawda, who is widely regarded as being close to Pakistan's military establishment, questioned how Ishaq Dar could continue to hold one of the country's highest offices while his close relative faced such serious allegations.
"Pakistan is being run like a family corporation," Vawda said in a post on X. He alleged that Muhammad Raza Dar was arrested only after intervention by the embassy of one of the victims' countries.
"After such serious allegations, how can Ishaq Dar continue to represent Pakistan before the world as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister? If there is any concern for Pakistan and its international image, Ishaq Dar should resign immediately," Vawda said.
The senator further alleged that efforts were being made to dilute the case by treating it as one of extortion rather than rape. He also claimed that authorities were attempting to send the two foreign victims back to their respective countries as quickly as possible. These allegations have not been independently verified.
Vawda also criticised the silence of the federal government and ruling coalition leaders, noting that no senior political figure had publicly condemned the incident.
Neither Ishaq Dar nor Pakistan's federal government had responded to Vawda's allegations at the time of publication.
