Lahore English news | Lahore, Latest News & Live Updates in English | English News (Latest English News) at Lokmattimes.com

In a dramatic U-turn, former Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pakistani cleric Mufti Azizur Rehman on Monday denied sexually assaulting one of his students and told a judicial magistrate that he was being pressurised by the police to admit to the crime.This comes after last week, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) investigations Shariq Jamal Khan had told Dawn that the cleric had confessed that the incident's video, which went viral on social media a few days ago, had featured him and was secretly filmed by the student who was being sexually abused.Rehman further said that he was afraid and worried once the video went viral on social media and his sons had attempted to threaten the student and stop him from mentioning the incident to anyone, according to Jamal Khan."I released the video statement because I did not want to leave the madrassah. The madrassah administration had already told me to leave," the DIG quoted him as saying. "I am very ashamed at what I did," he added."I made the student a target of my lust with the lure of passing him [in his exams]," the Pakistani cleric admitted to the police.However, on Monday, Rehman redacted the earlier statement that was attributed to him by the police. He told the Judicial Magistrate Rana Rashid Ali that the seminary had conspired against him and the police were pressurising him for a confession, Dawn reported.After recording his statement, the magistrate sent the accused on judicial remand for 14 days. The court also sought a report from the police on the challan of the case at the next hearing.The North Cantonment police had on June 17 registered the FIR on charges of sexual assault and criminal intimidation against Mufti Rehman on the complaint of a student of Jamia Manzoorul Islam, Lahore.The police had later produced him before the local court and sought seven-day physical remand, which was approved by the magistrate.A harrowing video clip of him allegedly sexually assaulting one of his students was widely shared on social media earlier this month.The student had said Rehman sexually abused him, while the cleric's sons started blackmailing and threatening to kill him.The incident sparked outrage on social media, with many calling for the former JUI-F leader to be arrested. Pakistan's civil society members are questioning the silence of religious parties after police nabbed the cleric for sexually assaulting one of his students.On Twitter, #muftiazizurrehman was among the top trends in Pakistan on Thursday with netizens calling for action against the JUI-F cleric and criticising religious parties for their silence on the incident.( With inputs from ANI )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

LahoreFOLLOW

Lahore, Latest News

At least six members of a family died on Saturday and two children were injured after their vehicle plunged into the Neelum River in Muzaffarabad city in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), officials said. ...

Pakistan's anti-graft body National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar's Principal Secretary Tahir Khursheed in a probe against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Shehbaz Sharif in a case related to accumu ...

Islamabad, July 3 Religious leaders who hold a major sway in Pakistan society and have often been found ... ...

Pakistan is reeling under heavy load-shedding resulting in leaving citizens without electricity for 16 hours. ...

Pakistan suffers from an extreme trust deficit, as ties between the province and the centre has hit a new low with differences emerging between organs of the state, apex institutions and the federating units, according to a leading analyst. ...

Days after a powerful explosion took place near UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed's residence in Lahore, a Pakistani journalist has revealed that Saeed was indeed at home when the bomb went off and was the target of the attack. ...

Lahore, June 29 The 2021/22 central contracts list for Pakistan Women has been increased from nine to 12, ... ...

In a dramatic U-turn, former Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pakistani cleric Mufti Azizur Rehman on Monday denied sexually assaulting one of his students and told a judicial magistrate that he was being pressurised by the police to admit to th ...