Pakistani investigators probing the abduction and gangrape of two foreign women have opened a new line of inquiry. Officials now suspect a cryptocurrency-related dispute may lie behind the attack, according to local media reports. The case has drawn attention because one of the accused is related to Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar.
Muhammad Raza Dar, named as a principal accused, is reportedly related to Ishaq Dar, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. Some reports describe him as Dar's grandson, adding political weight to an already sensitive investigation.
The fresh angle emerged after one of the two survivors recorded her statement before a judicial magistrate. She alleged that Muhammad Raza Dar accepted $100,000 in exchange for letting her go. A copy of her statement, obtained by Pakistan's ARY News, describes armed men entering the house where she and her friend were staying.
According to her account, the attackers restrained both women and locked them in a room. Raza Dar allegedly pressed them repeatedly about the location of a laptop and cryptocurrency funds. She told the magistrate the money was in a green bag. She also alleged she was hit on the head during captivity, and that an armed man warned both women they would be killed if the money was not handed over.
The survivor told the magistrate she was sexually assaulted by two of the accused while another suspect kept watch outside. In one line of her testimony, she said the men mocked her and told her to stay quiet when she cried.
Her statement further alleges that Raza Dar used her phone to message her contacts asking for money. No one responded at first, until the second woman's mother said $100,000 had been arranged. Raza Dar reportedly confirmed receiving the payment before letting the women go.
The women were freed only after the vehicle carrying them toward the airport was involved in an accident, according to the survivor's account. The two victims, from the Netherlands and Venezuela, were allegedly abducted on June 29 before being assaulted in Lahore.
Police have arrested four people in connection with the case. One suspect remains at large. A Lahore court on Friday sent four suspects, Muhammad Raza Dar, Hassan Raza, Sikandar Khan, and Sajid Ali, to police custody for five days for further investigation.
Investigators say Raza Dar first met the two women in Singapore last year through a cryptocurrency venture. He is also said to have arranged business visas that allowed the women to travel to Pakistan, setting the stage for the events that followed.
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