While the accused have filed for pre-arrest bails, Uzma Khan has issued a statement condemning “all sort of character assassination and personal attacks on myself and anyone involved in this case, even those nominated in the FIR”.
Read more – Uzma Khan case: All the latest updates
Uzma said that her fight is legal and the “blatant maligning and mud slinging is only reflective of our society’s deep-rooted misogyny and patriarchy”.
“It is also an attempt to make me withdraw from the case,” she said, adding that she will continue to fight for justice.
The actor further said that she is “totally shattered. Probably beyond repair”, but begged her followers to “not make this a fight of women attacking other women”.
“It is in fact a symbolic reflection of how women are categorically taught to malign and blame solely other women rather than also hold men accountable.”
“This is a fight of mighty powerful against the weak and vulnerable,” she said, requesting everyone to her support her till she lasts.
Read more – Power and privilege trumps all?
Earlier, Uzma’s lawyers Khadija Siddiqui and Hassaan Khan Niazi had also urged everyone to refrain from character assassination.
Niazi also shared that the accused have applied for a pre-arrest bail and clarified that there has been no settlement between the two parties.
THE INCIDENT
On May 23 (Chaand Raat) Malik Riaz’s daughters – Amber and Pashmina – along with Usman’s wife Aamna stormed into Uzma’s house with 12 gunmen where they assaulted and injured Uzma and her sister and threatened to kill them.
They vandalised the house, broke things and even attempted to sexually assault the girls by telling their armed guards to touch them. Moreso, they filmed everything including the women which is a breach of their privacy. The lawyer added that Riaz’s daughters took away all the belongings of the two sisters, including their clothes and shoes and said that they will set them on fire.
Videos of the incident went viral on social media, sparking public outrage. Uzma, in her official statement, named her perpetrators and vowed that she will stand up against their tyranny.
“I have been shamed, blackmailed, harassed, been threatened to kill in the past three days. I feel I have nothing to lose now and I have decided to fight the strongest people of Pakistan. For me, it is either I get justice or I will be killed but there is no turning back now.”
“I will fight against daughters (Amber Malik & Pashmina Malik) of Malik Riaz, who stormed into my house around midnight with 12 men,” she added.
