September 2, 2025
By Kaleem Ullah
LAHORE
Iqra Shafiq, a student of tenth grade, has been arrested by the Bahawalpur police, on terrorism charges along with her two aunts, allegedly in order to favour her family’s rivals in a land dispute. The three women are currently being held at the New Central Jail, Bahawalpur, on judicial remand.
Iqra Shafiq’s father, Muhammad Shafiq, submitted an application to the Regional Police Officer (RPO) during a khuli katchery (open court) session at Nowshera Jadeed Police Station, protesting the arrest of his school-going daughter and other female relatives. He alleged that the Uch Sharif police had falsely implicated his daughter and two other women of his family to benefit his rivals in the land dispute.
Following the complaint the RPO appointed the SP Investigation as the inquiry officer and directed him to complete the probe and submit his report at the earliest.
FIR details
According to the FIR registered on August 10 at Uch Sharif Police Station, police received a call on Helpline 15 from Khwaja Mureed Hussain, who complained that the land of Ali Hussain Petrol Pump was being encroached upon. Upon reaching the site, police claimed they found Muhammad Shafiq plowing the land. When questioned about the complaint, the FIR states, the accused began shouting instead of responding. Soon after, other family members, including women, arrived and allegedly attacked the police personnel and their vehicle with bricks and stones. As a result, one constable was severely injured, and the uniform of another officer was torn. The incident, according to the FIR, created panic in the area.
The FIR further states that the accused attacked police personnel with intent to kill, resisted official duty, damaged a government vehicle, tore the uniforms of police officials, and seriously injured a constable. A case was registered under sections 324, 353, 186, 427, 148, 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
However, Muhammad Shafiq told reporters at the Bahawalpur Press Club that the Uch Sharif police had made his family’s life “miserable” by registering at least seven false FIRs against them at the behest of an influential businessman, Khwaja Mureed Hussain, in an attempt to seize their 33 kanals and 10 marlas of commercial land in Revenue Estate Muhammad Pur, Khata No. 261.
Shafiq questioned the veracity of the FIR.
“They mentioned my presence in the incident even though I was in Karachi that day. If the police or anyone else proves that I committed such a heinous crime of terrorism, I am ready to face any punishment,” he said.
Iqra’s sister also accused the police of brutality.
“Even though she was suffering from kidney stones, my sister was subjected to police violence, dragged down from the roof by her hair, and detained along with other female family members at the police station. We demand justice in this matter.”
Meanwhile, Uch Sharif Police SHO denied allegations of violating the sanctity of the home and of assaulting the women.
Regarding the 10th-grade girl, the SHO clarified that the individual identified on social media as Iqra Shafiq — whose result card was widely circulated online — has not been nominated in the case. He said the actual nominee is a girl named Sofia, who confirmed her identity before the court and jail authorities as Sofia Bibi, affixing her thumb impressions under that name, but is now being portrayed as ‘Iqra’.
The SHO also said there was female police present at the time of the arrest.
“There were female constables present, and if it is proven otherwise, disciplinary action will be taken,” he said. “The probe has been completed, and it was found that since 2009, at least seven FIRs have been registered against this family, which shows that they are habitual offenders who bring their women to the forefront in order to defame the police.”
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Bahawalpur City Ameer Nasrullah Nasir expressed solidarity with the affected family, saying that revenue records and Khasra Girdawari confirmed their longstanding ownership and possession of the land. He accused the SP Investigation of bias, alleging that instead of completing the inquiry and submitting the report to the RPO, he declared the family illegal occupants through a press conference — a claim Nasir insisted was contrary to the facts. He announced a protest and warned that demonstrations would be intensified if a fair inquiry was not conducted.