Music

Incidents of sexual assault mar Pakistan’s Solis Festival

R Vargese

Solis Festival Pakistan's first and biggest concert series was marred by allegations of sexual assault and injury caused by unruly mobs that entered the venue, many of whom climbed onto the VIP platform leading it to collapse

The February 15 ‘night of horrors’, as one Twitter user described it, has drawn widespread flak on social media, with concert attendees threatening to sue the organisers following their harrowing experience. 

According to multiple reports, the festival fell into disarray when it began to be overtaken by those who reportedly held fake tickets. In the lengthy Instagram post, the Solis Festival organisers further said: “For you, our true fans, we absolutely could not put your safety and security at risk and had to stop the event. What some of you didn’t see was the further damage these individuals caused after we shut down the event.

Instagram user Shanza G, who reportedly attended the Solis Festival, later posted graphic images of her injuries and those sustained by her friends.  "[The stage] was almost 7ft [3m] high and I lost consciousness for a minute. All I remember is me struggling to get up and a guy starts snatching my bag. We're getting stamped upon and literally no one's helping... [people] start touching, groping and harassing us."