US blogger alleges assault by former PM
Ritchie claims that she was also raped by former interior minister Rehman Malik
Pakistan’s political landscape has been hit by a torpedo of sorts as a blogger from the United States, Cynthia Ritchie — who has been living in Pakistan since 2009 to promote Pakistan’s positive image — alleged on social media that she was raped by Pakistan’s former interior minister Rehman Malik and was also sexually assaulted by former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and former health minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin. All three are senior leaders with Pakistan’s main Opposition entity — Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
In a series of posts on social media (#CynthiaIsPrideOfPakistan is currently trending on Twitter), Ritchie alleged that in 2011, she had visited the official residence of the then interior minister Malik in the Diplomatic Enclave of Islamabad, seeking to resolve certain issues related to her visa, when she was drugged and raped by Malik.
Charges against Gilani
Ritchie has included former prime minister and senior vice-chairman of the PPP, Gilani, and former health minister Shahabuddin also in her charges, accusing them of physical abuse. In a live video feed on her Facebook page, Ritchie claimed that these incident happened while Gilani was staying at the President’s House.
While her posts have won her sympathy from a large number of people on social media, there are also voices condemning her for trying to malign Pakistan’s political class.
Noted journalist Saleem Safi in his post questioned what made her keep this a secret for all these years.
While questioning her credentials, Safi in a post on Twitter asked on whose agenda this “mysterious” woman was working. “We need to know her background before paying attention to what she is saying.”
Meanwhile, Gilani and Malik have dismissed the charges, terming them as insulting and below one’s dignity. Gilani, while speaking to Gulf News on Saturday, said that Ritchie had levelled baseless allegations against his party leader late Benazir Bhutto and made serious accusations against him.
Senator Malik has also endorsed the statement of Gilani, denying the allegations of the US citizen. According to Malik’s spokesperson, Malik strongly denied the wild and fabricated allegations against him, which she did in order to malign and scandalise him.