The National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) on Friday called upon the government to take immediate remedial action related to the medical screening of prisoners, identification parade, information on rights and establishment of oversight and complaint mechanisms.
The NCHR has issued a detailed report of jail visits conducted by its team across the country, to investigate allegations of torture and sexual abuse of prisoners in connection with the May 9 protests.
In its report, the impartial state body said that although the prisoners did not make any statement alleging torture or sexual abuse, the commission has expressed concerns over lapses in upholding safeguards as to arrest, gaps in procedures relating to prison standards especially those that are prescribed by law or fundamental rights given under the Constitution and international guidelines.
The report further said that these gaps include delays in the process of Identification parades, lack of information on prisoner’s rights and details on the sections under which they have been booked.
It is pertinent to mention here that the visit was aimed at investigating the authenticity of these allegations, gauging the conditions of confinement, whether such prisoners had been tortured or not, and checking on the medical records of the prisoners – whether they were screened for illnesses or denied any of their rights and privileges as per law.
The report mentions that during investigations, the NCHR team received no reports of torture or sexual abuse of any male or female prisoner in either police or judicial custody.
The prisoners reported late-night arrests and the use of disproportionate force at the time of arrest intended to intimidate and cause fear. Several prisoners reported breakages in their homes, confiscation of laptops and verbal harassment. The report says that the majority of political prisoners were not aware of their rights in jail as per jail rules (Rule 64 PPR) and were not informed about the grounds of arrest.
On May 9, violent protests erupted in the country after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was arrested from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a £190m Al-Qadir Trust case.
Apart from attacks on civil government infrastructure and properties, some protesters entered high-security areas including army and air force installations where acts of violence were committed. During, and after these protests, the provincial authorities initiated widespread arrests in different cities. A larger number of people were detained, and later on, charged under various statutory provisions. Subsequent to the arrests, a number of social media statements and allegations appeared regarding torture, including sexual abuse, of PTI female protesters during arrest and incarceration in the various jails of Pakistan, read the report.