Hashim Jawan
Bakht, a minister in the government of Punjab in Pakistan, on Wednesday condemned the harassment of a female YouTuber in Lahore on
the country’s Independence Day, calling it a “horrendous” incident and pledging
the “full might” of the government will come down on those involved.

The incident happened on August 14, when
hundreds of youngsters were celebrating the country’s Independence Day at the historic
Minar-i-Pakistan in Lahore. Clips from the incident show hundreds of men
throwing the woman in the air, dragging her, tearing her clothes and molesting
her.

Also Read | Sikh community in Pakistan anguished over vandalisation of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue

Videos of the incident went viral on social
media with people urging Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab Chief Minister
Esman Buzdar to take action.

“The full might of the Govt will come down
upon those involved in the horrendous Lahore incident. Society is judged by its
treatment of women and the freedom they have. This is not what Pakistan stands
for. Ethos & civic sense are the founding blocks of nationhood
#lahoreincident,” Bahkt, who is the Minister of Finance in the Punjab government, said in a tweet.

Also Read | Pakistan PM Imran Khan says Taliban “broke shackles of slavery” in Afghanistan

Meanwhile, Lahore police have booked 400
people in connection with the incident, PTI reported. “After the videos went
viral on Tuesday, the police approached the girl on the order of the high-ups
and persuaded her to register FIR,” PTI quoted a senior police official as
saying.

In her complaint, the woman said that she
and six members of her YouTube channel visited Azadi Chowk to record videos of
the Independence Day celebrations. She also alleged that her cell phone, a gold
ring, and cash worth PKR 150,000 were stolen from her.

“We were shooting the clip when a good
number of youngsters started teasing me. They were joined by more and more. They
tore my clothes and molested me. They dragged and tossed me up in the air for
fun. They also beat my team members, and used abusive language,” she said.