The National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) has issued a detailed report of jail visits conducted by NCHR team across the country, to investigate allegations of torture and sexual abuse of prisoners in connection with May 9 protest. Jails visited included; Central Jails Karachi, Peshawar, Lahore, Rawalpindi , Quetta and jails of Nowshera, Swat and Sheikhupura.
The visit was aimed at investigating the authenticity of these allegations, to gauge the conditions of confinement, whether such prisoners had been tortured or not, and to check 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 NCHR team comprised of NCHR team and members of civil society including of Justice Project Pakistan and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
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 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 majority of political prisoners were not aware of their rights in the jail as per jail rules (Rule 64 PPR) and were not informed about the grounds of arrest.
On May 9, 2023 protests were carried out in the wake of the arrest of the Chairperson of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Later on, the media reported incidents of violence and arson by the protesters in which private and public properties were targeted. Apart from attacks on civil government infrastructure.
