[Current Affairs] 18 June, 2021 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for PPSC Test Preparation

3. FIR registered against JUI-F cleric Mufti Azizur Rehman for sexual assault charges

What’s going on? Lahore police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against cleric Mufti Azizur Rehman, who is a member of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam—Fazal (JUI-F), a prominent religious political party. Police registered a case against Rehman after a video of him allegedly sexually assaulting one of his students emerged on social media Tuesday night. Police said the student appears to be in his early 20s.

The details: According to the victim, a student at the Jamia Manzoor-ul-Islamia (a religious school or madrassah) since 2013, Rehman accused him of cheating in his exams and also banned him from giving exams at the Wafaqul Madaris (a body that oversees the religious school system) Dawn reported. The student tried to address the cheating accusations and suggested Rehman blackmailed him into being sexually assaulted. According to the student, Rehman said he might be able to “think of something” if the student engaged in sexual activities to “make [Rehman] happy.”

Tell me more: When the student initially complained to the madrassah’s administration, they dismissed his accusations against Rehman, who is in his 60s, saying he was an “elder and pious man.” The student then resorted to recording the sexual abuse in order to present visual evidence to the Wafaqul Madaris. The student said Rehman started threatening him after this.

Looking ahead: The administration of Jamia Manzoor-ul-Islamia eventually removed Rehman after the student shared audio and visual recordings that purportedly showed the cleric forcing himself on the student. Rehman and his sons have reportedly been threatening the student since Rehman’s removal. In a video message on social media, Rehman maintained his innocence and claimed he wasn’t in his senses because the boy in the video drugged him before filming the alleged abuse. Rehman claims the video is a conspiracy to have him removed from the madrassah. Some people from Jamia Manzoor-ul-Islamia’s neighbourhood showed the video to one of Mufti Rehman’s sons and asked him to leave.

The bottom line: Several social media users were enraged by Rehman’s alleged actions, calling him a ‘rapist’ and a ‘pedophile.’ Some even pointed out the irony of letting Rehman’s predatory behaviour go unnoticed while Saba Qamar’s video shoot at Wazir Khan mosque last year caused a massive uproar and resulted in blasphemy allegations against her.