Nawaz Sharif was the chief minister of Punjab. It was March 23, 1990. The nation was celebrating 50 years of the passing of the Pakistan Resolution that called for an independent state for Muslims. “You are about to witness a historical event,” I tell my three highly excited journalist companions that had come from America to witness Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s address at the Minar-e-Pakistan. “And we four will share the space with Ms Bhutto as the press gets special seats on the dais,” I add with a touch of bluster. Snaking our way towards the rally ground, suddenly hundreds of heads pop up everywhere. Our final destination appears far in the hoary distance. Stay close, I whisper to my visitors. We can lose one another in this suffocating crush. Banish the thought, too chilling to imagine.Men, men everywhere, not a cop in sight!Remember, the chief executive of the province is responsible for the maintenance of law and order. But Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif are not on talking terms. Security be thus damned. As we walk, behind us spring a gang of men. They begin their groping. Our pace quickens, nervously we lock hands and clutch our cameras. The groping gets fierce. Hands everywhere. Who are these maniacs? We turn back to see. The sinister grins are all one remembers today as I recreate the 20-minute nightmare. Still echoing in my ears are the hysterical screams by the three women to their assailants: “Stop it!” No one rescued us then. I tried fending off these animals, appealing to their better judgment. Nothing worked. The attack continued until we reached the dais. Soon, the molesters scattered and skunked away in the crowd.“What was that?” I recall the incredulous looks of these women as they questioned me, still shaking with fear and anger. “Do the men in your country treat women this way? They asked. “Are women routinely sexually assaulted at rallies like this one?” No, I answered. I’ve attended rallies but never been mobbed until now, I tell them. The shock and disgust that I see on my guests’ faces somewhat sends me on a guilt trip.These three American journalists are my personal guests. They readily accepted my invitation because they wanted to see firsthand a national rally commemorating a historical milestone. What they experienced, instead, was unmitigated sexual harassment by hired gangs of thugs, in a country ruled by a woman prime minister, the first in the Muslim world. Benazir Bhutto’s Information Secretary, Saleem Shaikh, noticed our dishevelled state as we arrived on the dais. “What’s wrong?” he asked visibly concerned. I related the whole incident in Urdu. I feel threatened that the same mob will come after us when the rally ends, I said to him. It will be a repeat. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” were his reassuring words. When the event ended, we warily began to walk towards the exit. Lo and behold, our attackers pounced to mount an assault once more. Saleem Shaikh preempted their devilish designs by swiftly encircling us with the help of his assistants. Despite being roughed up by these hoodlums, our protectors kept a tight grip around us until we were safely out of harm’s way. Bravo!The hero of the hour that day was the federal information secretary. On arrival at the hotel where we were staying, I got an urgent call from the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary, Bashir Riaz. He had already been briefed about the ugly incident by Saleem Shaikh. “These hooligans are hired by the Punjab government to go and harass women at rallies to embarrass our prime minister,” alleged Riaz. “Please pass on my sincere apologies to your three American journalists. Such despicable episodes tarnish our national image. I’ll bring it to the prime minister’s notice.”Today, after 26 years, I had a feeling of deja vu when I read that women at a PTI rally in Lahore were abused, attacked and sexually harassed, allegedly by the same political party that according to Bashir Riaz then, had attacked us. If the PTI’s allegations prove to be true, it’s a sad reflection of the ruling party’s mindset that remains unchanged. Women make easy targets for bullies!Published in The Express Tribune, May 6, 2016.