“It has nothing to do with Sharia law:” Khawaja Asif responds to Elon Musk’s post on old ‘revenge rape’ case in Pakistan

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif refuted Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s claims after he shared a post on X linking an old ‘revenge rape’ incident in Pakistan to Sharia law.

Musk, who has frequently posted against Sharia law and expressed controversial views on migrant communities in the US, recently shared a post about an incident from 2018 in Toba Tek Singh.

While Musk did not add any text to the post, but it was widely interpreted as an effort to single out and defame Sharia law.

The incident involved a tribal community's decision where, instead of prosecuting an accused rapist, it was agreed that the man’s sister would be raped in retaliation by the victim’s brother.

The post triggered strong reactions on social media, with many pointing out that the practice had nothing to do with Sharia law and was instead rooted in unlawful tribal customs. These practices, critics emphasised, are neither recognised by the Pakistani state nor sanctioned under Islamic law.

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Responding to Musk, Khawaja Asif clarified that the incident was dealt with by law enforcement and strongly rejected any link to Sharia, “It was a tribal arrangement, nothing to do with Sharia law or councils, absolutely incorrect. Twenty people were arrested and prosecuted,” he wrote.

This incident happened in 2017 I am told, it was a tribal arrangement nothing to with sharia law or councils, absolutely incorrect. 20people were arrested and prosecuted. https://t.co/pHhK5iR2S0

— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) August 26, 2025

The incident Musk referred to dates back nearly seven years. At the time, police launched an investigation, arresting several individuals involved in the decision, including women from the families implicated.

According to reports, the case began when a man sexually assaulted a woman in Pirmahal. Following the assault, the accused’s family sought forgiveness from the victim’s family.

When the request was refused, the victim’s family demanded that the accused’s sister be subjected to the same crime. Shockingly, both families agreed, choosing not to pursue any legal action against each other.

However, once the matter came to light, authorities intervened, arrested and prosecuted those responsible for orchestrating and carrying out the heinous act.