PTI spread 'false news' of Lahore college girl's rape: CM Maryam

Provincial Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has ordered swift action against those spreading false information about the alleged rape of a first-year student at Punjab College in Lahore.

During a press conference, CM Maryam revealed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was behind the malicious propaganda. 

Punjab's first female CM clarified that "fabricated news" was spread regarding the incident at Punjab College.

"The administration and police received a report of a female student being raped, but we've been searching for the victim, only to discover that the alleged victim has been hospitalised since October 2 due to injuries from a fall," Maryam Nawaz explained. 

She further shared that she spoke with the girl's mother, who was in shock and requested that the truth be revealed to the people.

"It is your responsibility to expose the characters of this conspiracy and identify the culpable character," she said quoting the student's mother.

Nawaz Sharif's daughter said that false news spread rapidly on social media, which misled students and sparked a baseless campaign in Punjab. 

"This attempt to spread nonsense and lies will not be tolerated," she asserted.

Earlier, it was reported that a 16-year-old student was raped by a security guard on Campus 10 of Punjab College.

However, in a video statement, the victim's father and uncle denied the claims.

In another video, ASP Defence Shehrbano Naqvi termed the rape of a female student "misinformation".

"Misinformation was spread regarding a private college student," Naqvi said in a video message uploaded to Punjab Police's official X account.

"We request all parents, students, and school administrations to lodge complaints with the police if any untoward incidents occur. Your grievances will be resolved. Please don't take the law and order situation into your hands."

Later in another video statement, ASP Naqvi said that no medical records of a female rape victim were found at either the government or private hospital in Lahore.

On the hand, students of the college, who have been protesting against the rape for almost three days, accused police of attempting to cover up the incident due to the institute's influence.