PPP Central Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira on Monday said Lahore CCPO Umer Sheikh’s statement about the motorway gang-rape victim was unacceptable, adding that the government should have removed him soon after the tragic incident.

How law would be respected in the country where the Constitution isn’t respected, he remarked.

According to 24NewsHD TV channel, Kaira told reporters in Kasur that Punjab Chief Minister Usman was laughing while saying that a committee had been formed on the issue at time a time when questioned had been posed to him on the serious issue.

Referring to the Zainab case which had received attention at national international levels, he said a horrific incident had also occurred in the past in Kasur.

The remarks came as the government is facing severe pressure amid the calls for the removal of Lahore CCPO who had blamed the gang-rape victim for the incident.

He had stated that the woman shouldn’t have travelled during the night without a male family member and that she thought it was France while being safe for movement. 

Since then protesters, as well as the opposition parties across the country, have been calling for his removal.

On Monday, Sheikh – five days after his insulting remarks about the motorway gang-rape victim – opted for an apology, but only after the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered him to appear in person after it declared a petition maintainable, which sought his immediate removal.

As the LHC issued the directives, the CCPO reached the Governor’s House and met with Chaudhry Sarwar. Later, he tendered an apology during a media talk to the gang-rape victim and all the segments of society who were offended by his statement.

Earlier in the day, the court set aside the objection regarding the maintainability of the petition calling for the CCPO’s removal after rejecting Additional Advocate General Abdul Aziz Awan’s request to declare it unmaintainable.

He argued that Sheikh was posted as per law as transfers and posting was a right of the government, adding that the petitioner wasn’t an affected party.

Sheikh’s comments about the motorway gang-rape have got attention both in national and international media as he had blamed her for the horrific incident, saying that she shouldn’t have travelled without a male family member during the night.

He also suggested that the woman thought it was France where she could move freely any time of the day or night without any safety concerns.