Hina Bayat wants the men behind the Lahore mob to apologise

Famous Pakistani actress Hina Bayat took to Instagram to condemn the recent mob attack in Lahore targeting a young woman over her dress. The incident unfolded in Lahore’s Ichra Bazaar on Sunday when a mob of angry men confronted a woman wearing a kurta with Arabic calligraphy, mistaking it for blasphemous content.

Hina, strongly reacting to the incident, posted a video on Instagram questioning the actions of the mob and questioning the essence of proclaiming a religious identity. Launching a solid broadside, he declared: “Do we deserve to be called Muslims? We harass a woman in a market with just a few letters written on her clothes. We give her death threats and then apologize.”

“An apology for what? The apology must come from men who see themselves as the custodians of religion,” he argued, calling for accountability. Hina argued that those responsible for the harassment should be punished and apologise.

Urging a collective effort to ensure the safety and dignity of women in society, the actor said, “They must be punished apart from an apology so that no person in future can dare to cross legal and religious lines to harass a woman. If this is truly an Islamic state, then such laws must be enforced and the ‘black’ laws must be abolished.”

The viral video on social media captured the terrified woman seeking shelter in a store, vehemently denying any foul play. Prompt intervention of a police team, led by Gulberg Circle Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Syeda Shehrbano Naqvi, averted a potential tragedy. ASP Naqvi addressed the crowd with authority, assuring them that no blasphemous act had taken place and urged to trust her team’s expertise in handling similar situations in the past.

The Arabic calligraphy on the dress, bearing the word ‘halwa’ meaning honesty, love and humanity, from a popular clothing brand, was confirmed by senior police officials and confirmed not to be related to any verse of the Koran. The woman, in her testimony, rejected the allegations of blasphemy, stressing her deep respect for Islam as she came from a religious family.

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