ISLAMABAD – The rape case involving Azerbaijani national Diana has taken another turn after she withdrew serious allegation against Ahmed Tanveer, and appealed for the case to be closed.
In her new statement, Diana said Tanveer neither raped her nor took her mobile phones. She also claimed her earlier statements had been made under pressure, without identifying who allegedly pressured her. “Ahmed Tanveer did not rape me and did not take my mobile phones,” she said, distancing him from the allegations she had previously made.
Diana submitted a document through the Azerbaijani embassy declaring Tanveer innocent. Police reportedly arrested him despite his having secured interim bail.
Her latest raised concerns about her previous statements before Lahore court, in which she accused three men of sexual assault. However, her withdrawal of the allegation against Tanveer does not establish the outcome of the case or resolve the allegations concerning the other accused. The supplied report contains no subsequent court ruling.
In her statement recorded on September 29, Diana said she arrived in Islamabad from Istanbul on September 13, spent five days in Faisalabad and then travelled to Lahore, with plans to visit Skardu. She said she contacted acquaintances Nimra and Muskan while in Lahore and later met Muskan at a café. According to that account, they subsequently travelled to an apartment, where other people joined them.
Diana alleged that Nimra received between Rs20,000 and Rs30,000 from Mohsin, supposedly for a party. She claimed she was later prevented from leaving and told that her friends had taken money.
Her earlier statement accused Mohsin, Ahmed and Ali Zain of rape. She also alleged that her bag, containing Rs200,000 and two mobile phones, was withheld and that she was pushed out of a car before seeking help from members of the public, who contacted police. Her latest denial specifically names Ahmed Tanveer. The report does not clarify whether she has also withdrawn her allegations against the other men.
Diana’s return to Azerbaijan also drew attention after she initially refused to travel despite completing immigration clearance and boarding an aircraft at Lahore airport. According to airport sources cited in the report, she disembarked and claimed she was being deceived into returning home. She was then taken to the international briefing area under security supervision.
She eventually departed for Baku on October 4 aboard flight PK-159, accompanied by three police officers. The report identified two members of the accompanying team as ASP Bareera and DSP Qamar Abbas, alongside another female police officer.
The case was registered at Lahore’s Defence C police station. Her acquaintances in Pakistan, Muskan, Mohsin and Ali Zain, had been arrested, while Shabbir Ahmed was also detained and more than 20 others were questioned.
During probe, Diana’s marriage to a Pakistani citizen in Rawalpindi was also reported, and a subsequent divorce. Separately, photographs of her inside the Punjab Assembly prompted inquiries into how she entered the building and who authorised the visit.
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