Pak PM calls for public hanging, chemical castration of rapists
Sep 14, 2020
Islamabad [Pakistan], September 15 : Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for public hangings and chemical castration of rapists after a woman was raped in front of her children on a highway in Lahore last week.
"They [rapists] should be given exemplary punishments. In my opinion, they should be hanged at the chowk [intersection]," Al Jazeera quoted Khan as saying.
"The way murders are graded as first degree, second degree and third degree, rape should also be graded this way, and the first grade rapists should be castrated and (made) incapable completely," he added.
Last week, the woman was attacked when her car broke down near the eastern city of Lahore in Punjab Province.
Unidentified assailants attacked her as she stopped her vehicle, smashing her car window before raping her in a nearby field in front of her children, Al Jazeera reported.
She was also robbed of her cash and jewellery.
The incident pulled a number of protesters out on the streets in several cities, including Islamabad and Karachi, condemning attacks on women.
Al Jazeera reported that Lahore police chief Umar Sheikh faced an angry backlash and calls for his resignation after the incident last week, after suggesting the rape was partially the victim's fault.
On September 10, the police took as many as 15 people for questioning.
Till now, two people have been arrested.