Lahore police arrest key suspect in Azeri woman's gang-rape case

Lahore police arrest key suspect in Azeri woman's gang-rape case.

Key points

• Wajih Ahmad SheikhAsif Chaudhry Published September 28, 2026 Updated September 29, 2026 12: 04am.
• The woman was brought to the court under tight security to record her statement before Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Sagheer.
• Wajih Ahmad Sheikh is a Lahore-based correspondent for Dawn with over two decades of experience covering legal affairs and judicial developments.
• In June, two foreign women, nationals of the Netherlands and Venezuela, were allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted in the Defence C police station area.
• LAHORE: Police on Monday arrested one of the three suspects who allegedly gang-raped a foreign woman in Lahore.

Wajih Ahmad SheikhAsif Chaudhry Published September 28, 2026 Updated September 29, 2026 12: 04am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

For context, the 20-year-old Azeri woman had travelled to Pakistan for business purposes and was allegedly gang-raped by three men in a rented flat of a private housing society located near Raiwind on the night between Friday and Saturday.

Lahore Deputy Inspector General (Investigation) Zeeshan Raza confirmed the arrest of the key suspect to Dawn, adding that two other suspects had additionally been identified and police teams were conducting raids to arrest them.

"We are investigating the case in the light of the victim woman's statement to the police, " he remarked.

According to The official, the woman's medical report confirmed she was subjected to sexual assault.

On Sunday, Lahore police requested federal authorities to place the names of the three prime suspects in the case on the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL), saying they had fled Lahore shortly after the alleged assault.

Police had additionally taken two close relatives and a domestic servant of one of the suspects into custody. The vehicle allegedly applied in the incident had additionally been taken into custody, he continued.

Earlier in the day, the Azeri woman recorded her statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before a judicial magistrate at the Cantonment Courts on Monday.

Notably, the woman was brought to the court under tight security to record her statement before Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Sagheer. Before the proceedings began, the magistrate ordered all unrelated persons to leave the courtroom. The statement continued for more than an hour.

Notably, the Defence C police had registered a case against three unidentified suspects on the woman's complaint.

It is the second such case in which a foreign woman was reportedly gang-raped in the Defence C police station area during the last four months.

According to the FIR, the women were abducted by five suspects, including a close relative of a senior political personality. This person demanded ransom and subjected them to sexual assault during their captivity.

Wajih Ahmad Sheikh is a Lahore-based correspondent for Dawn with over two decades of experience covering legal affairs and judicial developments. He can be discovered on X at @wajihsheikh.

Asif Chaudhry is a crime and health reporter for Dawn with over two decades of experience. His reporting focuses on uncovering corruption and highlighting systemic failures within the public sector. He can be discovered on X at @asif_28.

In short, lahore police arrest key suspect in Azeri woman' s gang is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.