400 Men Assault, Undress Female TikToker While She Films A Video

A female TikTok user in Pakistan was assaulted by up to 400 people while she was trying to film a video with her friends during the celebration of the country's independence day last weekend.

The unnamed woman and her six companions were filming a video near the Minar-e-Pakistan national monument in Lahore, Punjab, Saturday when around 300 to 400 people "attacked" them, local newspaper Dawn first reported, citing a police complaint.

The group attempted to escape from the crowd, with the park's security guard opening the gate to the enclosure around the monument, according to the first information report (FIR) filed against hundreds of unidentified people by Lahore police at the Lorry Adda police station Tuesday.

"However, the crowd was huge and people were scaling the enclosure and coming towards us. People were pushing and pulling me to the extent that they tore my clothes," the woman was quoted as saying in the FIR.

"Several people tried to help me, but the crowd was too huge and they kept throwing me in the air," she added.

The unidentified men also "violently" assaulted the group of friends, the woman claimed, adding that her ring and earrings were "forcibly taken" during the encounter, according to the report. Additionally, one of her companions lost his mobile phone, identity card and the Rs 15,000 ($90) he had on his person, she claimed.

Footage of the incident posted on social media showed a crowd of men assaulting a woman near the national monument.

The FIR was reportedly registered under sections 354 A (assault or use of criminal force against woman and stripping her of her clothes), 382 (theft after preparation made for causing death, hurt or restraint in order to commit the theft), 147 (rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

In response to the incident, Lahore DIG Operations Sajid Kiyani ordered the superintendent of police (SP) to take "immediate legal action" against the men involved in the incident, according to the report.

"The suspects should be traced with the help of the footage," the police official was quoted as saying in a statement.

The men who "violated women's honor and harassed them will be brought within the ambit of the law," Kiyani said.

Discussions over the lack of safety for women in Pakistan erupted on social media following the incident.

"The assault of a young woman by a mob at #minarepakistan should shame every Pakistani. It speaks to rot in our society. Those responsible must be brought to justice. The women of Pakistan feel insecure and it is all our responsibility to ensure safety and equal rights to all," assembly member and Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari posted on Twitter.

"What Ayesha faced on #MinarePakistan is what every Pakistani woman has faced at one time or another. In smaller magnitude maybe but everyone has faced it at one point of life or another. It is time to refuse to let this happen, or stay silent when it does," Sania Ashiq, a provincial assembly member of Punjab state, wrote.