HRCP slams Aurat March arrests

Organisers allege police used excessive force, subjected detainees to harassment

ISLAMABAD:

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has strongly condemned the detention and harassment of the participants of Aurat March by the Islamabad Police on International Women's Day and has announced to file a writ petition in the court against it.

While holding a press conference at the Islamabad National Press Club, Secretary General of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Haris Khaliq, the organisers of the Aurat March Islamabad Dr Farzana Bari, Tahir Abdullah, Zainab, Halima Azhar, Farhat Fatima and others said that the Aurat March had called for a peaceful march in Islamabad, but what had taken place yesterday was 'extremely regrettable".

"We saw the use of state violence, strict police action and the arrest of senior organisers and supporters of the Aurat March. Several women were forcibly detained, physically harassed and misbehaved with. When supporters and associates reached different police stations to help them, they were also arrested and detained for several hours. The treatment they received during this time is highly condemnable," said Farzana Bari said.

She added that Aurat March celebrates International Women's Day every year, however, obtaining the NOC is a struggle each time. "We have not been given a regular NOC since 2018 and every year we are stopped on some pretext or the other. This year too, we applied for an NOC a month and a half ago, but we have not been given any response. We believe that as citizens of Pakistan, we have the constitutional right to peacefully assemble and express our opinions."

"If the state imposes laws that restrict our basic constitutional rights, then as citizens we have the right to challenge these laws. What happened yesterday is not only sad but also worrying. Young girls and women were mistreated, beaten and their hair pulled," she said. The organisers further said the women who were detained were kept in inhumane conditions, with dozens of people placed in a single lock-up inside the police station, where it had become difficult for them to breathe.

"This situation is unacceptable for a civilised society. We clearly demand that this incident be investigated independently and action be taken against the officers who were involved in this violence. Our struggle for women's rights will continue," said the organisers.

Halima Azhar said that the people who were arrested ranged in age from 14 to 73 years. There were about 35 men and 44 women among them. She alleged that among these women were two pregnant women who were arrested and tortured. Similarly, young girls of 14 and 16 years were also tortured. During the arrest, the police also took people's mobile phones and personal belongings and made them unlock their phones, after which the messages and information in the phone were checked. "The police tried to spread fear and anxiety among us, and the young girls were especially treated very badly," she said.

Female journalist Farhat Fatima said that she reached the Women's Police Station for coverage. "When I introduced myself, they took us to the lock-up. Then someone called a person named Shabana and asked if she was present there. After this, the situation suddenly changed. I told them that we had only come to report and that we had not done anything illegal, but they tried to snatch our mobile phones. This was the first time in the 23 years I have worked as a journalist that I had seen such a restriction on freedom of expression. We were called in ourselves and then mistreated. Later, we were locked in a room. ATS and Special Branch officers came there and accused us of working against the state, being terrorists and violating Article 144," she said, painting a picture of the police's behaviour.