The policeman, who thrashed a foreign cyclist in Sadiqabad city of Pakistan, was suspended on Tuesday.
Sadiqabad District Police Officer (DPO) Rizwan Umar Gondal suspended the assistant sub-inspector who manhandled the foreign tourist and order departmental action against him.
Describing the incident, Gondal said that three foreign cyclists were provided security according to the standard operating procedure when they entered the Sadiqabad Tehsil of Rahim Yar Khan District from the Sindh Province. He said the cyclists insisted that they did not want security and this led to a clash between them and the policemen.
According to a police spokesperson, one of the tourists had sprayed the policeman and they policeman slapped him in reaction. He said that the policeman had been suspended for his inappropriate behaviour and further departmental action has been ordered against him.
A video of the attack by the policeman surfaced on Saturday. It transpired on Sunday that it was one of the many alleged assaults that the cycling tourists, Alex Sidney of Italy, Charlie West of the UK and Motahhareh Abbasi of Iran, had been facing since they entered Punjab. They have always been having a Punjab Police escort supposed to ensure their security but its police who allegedly attacked them.
ماشاء اللّٰہ ۔۔ مجھے پہلے ہی یقین تھا سیاح جھوٹ بول رہے ہیں ۔۔ یہ غیرملکی عادت سے مجبور ہوتے ہیں اور فرشتوں پر الزام لگا دیتے ہیں ۔۔
آپ نے تو صرف ان کی حفاظت کرنا چاہی ۔۔ بس https://t.co/4PkOXhiffT pic.twitter.com/8EKCa9A8EW— Imran Afzal Raja (@ImranARaja1) January 30, 2024
Alex is one of three tourists cycling in Pakistan. He started his travel on bicycle from Italy in 2022 and cycled through Europe during the last two years. He was joined by Mohtahhare in Tehran when he was travelling towards Pakistan. They entered Pakistan from the Balochistan-Iran border and cycled through Balochistan and Sindh.
