One suspect arrested in Pakistan highway gang-rape case

LAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistani authorities arrested a suspect Monday (Sep 14) in a gang-rape case that provoked a nationwide outcry after a police official seemed to blame the victim because she was driving at night without a male companion.

Hundreds of women took to the streets in cities across Pakistan last weekend to protest after a woman was raped in front of her two children after her car ran out of fuel near the eastern city of Lahore.

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Punjab province Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said one of the two suspects in the case, Shafqat Ali, had been arrested.

"His DNA has matched, and he has confessed to the crime", Buzdar said in a tweet.

READ: Pakistani police hunt for gang rape suspects as protests held across country

READ: Pakistanis outraged by gang rape of mother along major highway

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A senior police official confirmed the arrest, adding that a manhunt was ongoing for the second suspect.

Following last week's incident, Lahore police chief Umar Sheikh faced an angry backlash and calls for his resignation after suggesting the rape was at least partially the victim's fault.

Sheikh apologised Monday.

Rape is notoriously difficult to prosecute in Pakistan, where women areRead More – Source