Karachi police arrest man after foreign woman alleges sexual assault in DHA

KARACHI: Police have arrested a man after a foreign woman alleged that she was sexually assaulted in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA), South Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza said.

DIG Raza said the arrest was made on Saturday, a day after Darakhshan police registered a first information report on the woman’s complaint. He said the woman worked as a medical assistant in cardiology in the United States. He added that she arrived in Pakistan on Nov 13, 2025, and was staying in DHA Phase VI.

Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said Darakhshan police brought the 49-year-old woman for a medical examination on Friday after she reported the alleged assault. She said samples had been collected for serology and DNA testing.

The FIR was lodged on Friday, within hours of the alleged incident, under Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Police said the investigation was continuing.

Complaint details in FIR

The complainant is a permanent resident of the United States and had been living in DHA since April. She stated that at about 4am on July 17, a man whose name she said she learned later was taking her home, and that she agreed he could have a drink with her.

The FIR quotes her account that she then woke up in her bed and realised she was being raped.

"It took me a minute to become fully alert to what was happening"

According to the complaint, she said she resisted immediately, screamed, and hit the suspect, who then ran from the apartment. She said she tried to follow him, but he escaped on a motorcycle.

"I fell to the ground screaming in grief at the top of my lungs"

The FIR states that a woman and her two daughters then came to help her, gave her a shirt and assisted her back to the apartment. The complainant further alleged that the suspect later returned to the apartment without knocking in order to retrieve his phone. She said she confronted him again, screaming and hitting him before he fled once more.

She also stated in the FIR that she again tried to chase him, but was unable to do so and collapsed on the street, where she was left screaming in distress and trauma. According to the complaint, someone later called the police, after which she was taken to the police station.

Earlier this month, on July 2, Lahore police registered an FIR after two foreign women from the Netherlands and Venezuela alleged that they were abducted and sexually assaulted during a visit to Pakistan. One of the five suspects in that case, among four men who were arrested, was related to a senior political figure.