Faisalabad Salesgirl Assault: Maryam Warns Attackers

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has warned that anyone who raises a hand against a helpless woman will face the same treatment, after the Faisalabad salesgirl assault at a shop in Kohinoor Plaza. Police arrested the suspect and filed a case against him.

“Those who dared to raise their hand against a helpless woman would suffer the same fate,” the chief minister said on Monday. “Dare to raise your hand against a helpless woman who leaves her home every day to earn an honest living, and be prepared to face the same humiliation. She will have the right and the opportunity to slap you back,” she said in a post on the social media platform X.

She was reacting to a video of a man attacking a salesgirl at Kohinoor Plaza in Faisalabad. Faisalabad police said on Monday the incident happened on November 8. The shop sold lingerie and was meant only for women, and CCTV footage police shared on X showed the man dragging the girl from behind the counter and hurling her to the floor.

What happened in the Faisalabad salesgirl assault

The shop’s owner had turned up to collect the rent, and the girl asked him to go, saying it was a lingerie shop and he should deal with the business owner. She later told police the rent was paid in instalments on different dates, so she gave him Rs5,000 and asked him to come back for the rest.

She said the man then raised the matter of taxes, arguing with her about it. She told him she was only an employee and could not decide tax questions, and asked him to take it up with the business owner.

The woman said the man behaved in an “extremely unethical and insulting” way and threatened to slap her. Even though she kept telling him to settle the matter with the owner, he started hitting her and kicked her, according to the FIR.

The woman’s complaint led to a first information report at Madina Town police station on Monday, which Dawn has seen. It was registered under Sections 354 and 509 of the Pakistan Penal Code — 354 for assault or criminal force against a woman meant to outrage her modesty, and 509 for a word, gesture or act meant to insult it.

Police confirmed the suspect was in custody and legal proceedings had begun.

Maryam Nawaz and the slap-back warning

The chief minister also shared a video of the alleged victim hitting the suspect. “No one, no matter how wealthy, influential, or powerful, can now intimidate, exploit or harm an ordinary citizen with impunity. The state will stand firmly with the vulnerable and respond decisively to those who misuse their power,” she said on X.

Dawn reported the chief minister’s statement as police confirmed the arrest.

A pattern of public warnings

The chief minister has spoken out this way before. Last month she took notice after a man attacked a woman riding a scooty on Mozang Ring Road in Lahore. She said she had spoken to the victim and told her “she should slap the man as many times as he had slapped her”.

The victim had told her it was enough that the government had made her feel protected, cared for and sure that justice was on her side, the chief minister said. She later objected when the suspect was given bail.

Last month also saw a man accused of attacking a petrol pump worker in Lahore. The chief minister shared a video of the worker slapping the arrested suspect as a policeman tried to hold him back.

“This is a tight slap in the face of those entitled, spoiled brats who look down upon the poor as if they were lesser human beings,” she said. “They arrogantly believe that money and power put them above the law, allowing them to exploit, intimidate, and act with impunity.”

The chief minister has also taken notice of other cases of violence against women and girls in Punjab. In Bahawalpur, the parents of a teenage girl appealed to her to direct police to act against a college principal booked over an alleged assault. Police in another recent case gave their version of events after the chief minister sought answers, showing how her interventions now routinely draw a public police response. The Faisalabad case follows the same pattern: a video circulates, the chief minister speaks, and police act in public view.

Frequently asked questions

What happened at Kohinoor Plaza in Faisalabad?

A man assaulted a salesgirl at a lingerie shop in Kohinoor Plaza on November 8. CCTV footage showed him yanking her from behind the counter and throwing her to the ground after an argument over rent and taxes.

Has the suspect been arrested?

Yes. Faisalabad police said the suspect had been arrested and legal proceedings had been initiated against him.

What charges were filed in the case?

The first information report was filed at Madina Town police station under Sections 354 and 509 of the Pakistan Penal Code, covering assault against a woman and acts intended to insult a woman’s modesty.

What did Maryam Nawaz say about the assault?

The Punjab chief minister said anyone who raises a hand against a helpless woman would suffer the same fate, adding that the woman would have the right and the opportunity to slap the attacker back.

What happened in the earlier Lahore scooty case?

Last month, a man assaulted a woman riding a scooty on Mozang Ring Road in Lahore. The chief minister spoke to the victim and told her she should slap the man as many times as he had slapped her, and later objected when the suspect was granted bail.