Several are hoping the premier’s stance against rapists acts as a deterrent against sex crimes
After Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent appearance on PBSO News Hour, where he clarified his stance on the rising sex crimes in Pakistan and asserted that rape victims cannot be blamed for rape, several took to Twitter to applaud him for taking the “right U-turn”.
Aside from being famous for his speeches, Khan is also famous for the “U-turns” people associate with him, but netizens are glad this one turned out for the better and reinforced that the real cause of rape is a rapist. In this latest interview, Khan also stated that his previous comments were deliberately taken out of context and even provided clarification regarding his brief on ‘pardah’, which he assured was not restricted to women.
Now, users on the micro-blogging site are hoping the premier’s latest remarks act as a deterrent against sex crimes and give rapists the clear message that they will not be protected or excused by the state. “Thank you for this U-turn @ImranKhanPTI. Just wondering how your robot fans will now synthesise their defense of your earlier remarks with this statement,” tweeted Azeem Butt.
“Finally a U-turn we can all be proud off, although this is absolute bare minimum but glad he has finally changed his regressive stance due to public pressure,” added Osama. Another user named Zaid, however, contested that Khan’s latest statements do not qualify as a ‘U-turn’ because “he has believed in this the whole time. He clearly explained how his words were taken out of context in the first interview. He has been fighting this issue since before it became so trendy on social media.” The user also shared the interview where Khan had said, “Rapists should be publicly hanged or chemically castrated.”
PR maven Frieha Altaf also shared Khan’s statement and said, “U-turn by the PM! About time! [He is] no longer holding women’s clothing responsible for rape.” Knowing, however, that this would not be enough, she then asked,”Now, can we please make it a priority to PASS the DOMESTIC VIOLENCE BILL?”
In his latest interview, with regards to his previous ‘problematic’ interview on HBO, the host asked the premier, “You said that women bear a large part of the responsibility for the number of rising rape cases in Pakistan. Do you truly believe that?”
To this Khan said, “Look Judy, the one who commits rape, is solely responsible for it. So let’s be clear about that.” He went on, “No matter what a woman wears or how provocative she is, the person who commits rape is responsible. The victim is never responsible. My comments were taken out of context. We were simply talking about the Pakistani society and the rising number of sex crimes, including those against children. And when I spoke about ‘pardah’, which is a part of Islam, I was addressing everyone.”
The premier assured that “Pardah is not restricted to clothes or women; it applies to men as well.” He shared, “I was talking about bringing the temptations down in society. My comments were deliberately taken out of context because I know the interviews I’ve given; never would I say the victim is to blame.”
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