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Veteran actor Bushra Ansari has weighed in on the alleged case of rape at a Lahore college that the Punjab government is calling “fabricated”, urging a more in-depth investigation into the matter. She believes there must be some truth to the matter if so many students believe it to be real.

The incident has sparked widespread outrage and confusion, with authorities dismissing the validity of the entire incident. Ansari, in a video message on Instagram, expressed her frustration with the way the situation has been handled.

‘Thousands of students cannot be lying’

In her video, Ansari stressed the importance of taking student protests seriously, highlighting the credibility of the demonstrators. “Just because I’m not in the country doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s going on. We talk about random things to cheer you up or cheer ourselves up, but we have our eyes on everything, and we understand everything,” she said.

Commenting on the alleged incident and the subsequent protests, she questioned how the case has been deemed a misunderstanding. “Whatever has happened at [the] Punjab college in the past few days, what happened to the girl and the consequent student protests, that incident is being dismissed as false. I don’t know what exactly the confusion is, but all I’m saying is that all those students are educated.”

She emphasised that these were not baseless allegations from an uninformed mob, but from “medical students” and “responsible individuals”.

“Thousands of students cannot be lying. Please pay attention to what they’re saying and try to dig up the truth. Every other day, reports like these surface and we are tired of being helpless bystanders in our own country. For how long can we sit and tolerate this? Please do something and make an example out of this,” she urged.

What happened

Earlier this week, reports alleging that a female student had been raped by a security guard at a Punjab Group of Colleges campus went viral on social media. The rumours sparked a protest involving hundreds of students, which quickly turned violent, resulting in clashes with police. At least 28 people sustained injuries during the confrontation.

The protests then spread to other cities, with at least 250 protesters arrested in Rawalpindi as police used tear gas to disperse demonstrating students.

Punjab’s state counsel told the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday that students claiming that a college student was raped “had no evidence” for the alleged incident.

ASP Shehrbano Naqvi urged on Tuesday the public to refrain from spreading false information, warning that it could cause distress to the family involved. Similarly, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz declared during a press conference that the incident was a “fabricated story”, asserting, “This girl is completely paak saaf (pure), false allegations are being levelled against her.”

Backlash against Maryam

The chief minister’s remarks about the alleged victim’s “purity” have also provoked a sharp response from the Aurat March, a collective advocating for women’s rights. They criticised the rhetoric, stating: “This reinforces the patriarchal belief that women’s worth is tied to the supposed ‘purity’ that comes with them being sexually untouched.”

The organisation also expressed concern about how such language shifts the focus away from justice for survivors and perpetuates harmful stereotypes about sexual violence.

Ansari’s call for action reflects widespread discontent with how cases of sexual violence are handled, where societal pressures, misinformation, and lack of accountability often overshadow the pursuit of justice.