Alleged sex abuse of jailed PTI women keeps Pakistan on boil – Times of India

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif’s government has come under fire from opposition and human rights groups over alleged reports of authorities torturing in the most horrible ways possible arrested Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) workers, including sexually abusing women.
Social media has been buzzing with stories of alleged physical and sexual abuse of women PTI supporters, who were taken into custody and kept in detention centres following protests over ex-PM Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9.
PTI claims over 10,000 of its workers, including a large number of women, are currently locked up in overcrowded jails as C-class prisoners in the sizzling summer heat.
The growing public reaction over human rights violations prompted home minister Rana Sanaullah to accuse PTI at a presser Sunday of spreading lies to malign law enforcers. He said intelligence agencies had intercepted a conversation indicating that PTI was planning two “rapes” and pass the blame on security forces. He did not provide any proof to substantiate his statement.
PTI chief Imran dismissed the home minister’s allegations as false and accused the latter of coming up with bizarre tales to cover up the “horror stories” coming from the detention centres.
“If there were any doubts about women being mistreated in jails, this press conference from this certified criminal should remove all such doubts,” Imran tweeted.
Nearly 100 PTI functionaries were freed on two conditions set by the authorities— quit the party or politics, and publicly condemn attacks on military installations during nationwide protests over Imran’s arrest.
After the home minister’s comments, Islamabad police sent alerts to ensure cameras in police stations, offices and jails were working properly to avoid “plans to target officials”. Police noted that a “planned campaign to defame institutions” had been initiated.
“While all women are respectable, some can be used in this campaign,” police said in a statement.