Cover Story 
 

Cover Story

The Loud American

If Cynthia Ritchie fails to prove her case, the state needs to know why she made the allegations.

September 2020

Cynthia Ritchie, who first came to Pakistan in 2010 and has more or less resided here since then, describes herself as an “American freelance director, producer and writer” on her social media accounts. She hit headlines after she accused several members of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of sexual assault. On 7 June, Ritchie went on air with stunning accusations, alleging she was raped by the then interior minister Rehman Malik in 2011 and “physically manhandled” by former health minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin and former Prime Minister Yousaf Gilani. The accusations have gripped Pakistanis amid COVID-19.

Her allegations against PPP politicians came on the heels of the party suing her over “libellous” claims she made about the late Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister and co-chair of the PPP. On 28 May, Ritchie tweeted that Bhutto would order her guards to rape women who had affairs with her husband. Although the former ministers have denied her accusations, but Ritchie took to Twitter to say she was ready to defend her claims in the court of law.

The opposition in response accused that Cynthia Ritchie worked for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province’s health ministry and collected the samples from Abbottabad when US forces conducted the deadly raid on the compound of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. Politicians from the PPP say there is a campaign against them for authoring an amendment to the constitution in 2010, which curtailed presidential power to dissolve governments and ensured autonomy to the provinces. They further criticised the present government and the powerful military of using Ritchie to divert attention from the government’s failure to address the economic crisis and prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

This has raised many eyebrows as to why Ritchie had not filed a case in a Pakistani court before rather than airing her accusations on Twitter. Now the question is, how does one proceed in a case where the crime was allegedly committed nine years ago? Why, many are asking, has Ritchie decided to talk about this now? What evidence does she have? And is her evidence strong enough to hold in a court of law?

Since Cynthia went public with the allegations, multiple photographs of her with senior and important personalities have been doing the rounds on social media. One thing is for sure, she had a unique level of access. That in itself requires a separate investigation. It is to be noted here that after the 2013 elections, she also approached the then interior minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. The minister during his five-year term took a harsh stance against international NGOs working in Pakistan and against foreigners staying for a long period of time in the country.

Moreover, the allegations against politicians is becoming a norm in Pakistan politics. This can be used for personal gains sometimes or diverting the audience from the actual issue. Matters like these must be investigated properly to ensure the credibility of the statements made against politicians. Because this cannot only damage the reputation and credibility of politicians but also will have long-lasting implications on the politics of Pakistan.

As for now, the government should investigate this matter thoroughly. There is no doubt that in a society like ours, there have been cases of moral lapses, which have involved our political leaders in the past. Now if the allegations by Ritchie prove to be true, the PPP should stand with her to get her justice. But if she fails to prove her case, then the state needs to know why she made these allegations in the first place.

Read More