ISLAMABAD: The chairperson of National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) on Saturday told a meeting that the commission had taken cognizance of media allegations regarding violations of human rights of women prisoners arrested in the wake of the May 9 events.

The NCHR chairperson, Rabiya Javeri Agha, said the commission, led by herself and accompanied by representatives of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and the Justice Project, visited a number of prisons, interviewed prisoners and reviewed other evidence.

The meeting was chaired by Minister for Human Rights Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada.

Ms Agha said the report of the commission had been finalised and no evidence of mistreatment, torture or sexual abuse of women prisoners was found.

The team, however, found some gaps in procedure and systemic issues in these arrests and prisons, she added.

Sharing findings of the report with the participants, Ms Agha highlighted recommendations for improvement in the system of prison administration.

She said some prisoners complained about the use of excessive police force or verbal abuse of their family members at the time of their arrests. She said some of the prisoners were not aware of their rights. She also expressed doubts about the efficiency of the oversight committees established to ensure outside review of the prison conditions.

The minister appreciated the commission for taking cognizance of the issue and directed that the report of the commission may also be shared with all the provincial governments so that they may initiate requisite policy reforms.

He also stressed the need for making the oversight committees more effective.

National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) Chairperson Nilofar Bakhtiar stressed the need for improvement in the system of prisons, particularly for women inmates. She said separate cells for women prisoners were required in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

She also emphasised the need for proper food and nutrition arrangements for pregnant women and mothers with infants in custody.

Representatives of all four provincial governments said the rights of all persons arrested after the May 9 incidents were fully protected under the law and it was being ensured that all the arrested persons were produced before court according to the law.

They added that a majority of those arrested had either been discharged or released on bail and only a very small number remained in custody.

The minister for human rights said prison reforms were an important part of the human rights agenda of the government. He said the government and society needed to jointly work to improve the human rights situation.

He also urged the stakeholders to undertake special measures concerning the protection of minorities’ rights, particularly on religious festivals, in line with national and international commitments and careful application of the fourth schedule under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 besides setting up rehabilitation centres for drug addicts.

He said the provincial governments also needed to make policies to encourage the setting up of rehabilitation centres by the private sector.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2023