Ayesha Masood and her daughter Maha were presented at the ATC in connection with their alleged role in attacking Lahore's Corps Commander House also known as Jinnah House, following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan on May 9.
In a video clip, both women can be seen walking toward the court surrounded by Punjab police officers, but what has shocked netizens is the fact that the women's heads were completely covered in a box made out of blue plastic bags, with only small slits for eyes and mouth.
In a Muslim country, where women traditionally wear dupattas (long scarfs) and some wear niqabs (face veil), netizens found it weird that the police would not allow them to cover their faces with a soft fabric if their identity had to be protected.
As the video went viral on social media, the government and establishment faced criticism for 'humiliating women'.
PTI leader and former federal minister Hammad Azhar took to Twitter to express his indignation with the video, "Women have been used as a weapon by this regime. The arsenal has been manifold; blackmail, harassment, threats, illegal arrests & perhaps even more. But women have also stood up against these vile tactics and shown tremendous courage."
These days, the temperature in Lahore during an afternoon can reach 35 degrees Celsius, making it extremely uncomfortable to be out in the sun, but with a plastic bag over one's head the experience becomes almost torturous.
In his address to the nation on Tuesday, PTI chief Imran Khan said that the PMLN-led government and military establishment have stooped too low as the PTI workers are being threatened that women from their houses will be taken away.
Khan added that nobody could have imagined stooping to this level in Pakistan's politics. The former premier also expressed fear that his party leaders are being tortured. Earlier he said that over 10,000 PTI members have been jailed since May 9 and he was getting reports of women being raped and harassed in jails across Punjab.
Imran Khan urged the country's top judiciary to take Suo motu notice of the alleged abuse, including "reports of rape", of its women party workers and supporters.
What Do Police Say?
As PTI demanded fair treatment of its party members especially women and netizens continued expressing fear over mistreatment of women prisoners online, the Punjab Police Inspector General called in a press conference in which he refuted the claims.
Dr Usman Anwar, dismissed allegations that women in custody were being mistreated, abused or tortured. Talking to reporters at his office in Lahore on Tuesday, the IG claimed that several social media accounts who shared old video footage and pictures of such torture on women in custody had been identified and legal action would be taken against them.
He further said that the “fabricated information” regarding the rape and torture of PTI woman leaders and workers who are in jail or custody is false.
Meanwhile, another senior official of the Punjab Prisons Department said that the jail authorities have provided sufficient facilities to the women prisoners at the Kot Lakhpat Jail. Due to the hot weather conditions,16 air coolers besides the ceiling fans have been installed in the women's barracks of the jail to maintain pleasant temperature.
In addition, the authorities, according to the official, have installed a 400kVA generator as an alternate arrangement to maintain electricity supply to the lady ward in case of power outages.
On Monday, a committee was formed following Imran Khan's allegations against the police, to probe allegations of mistreatment of women prisoners arrested after the May 9 violence.
The committee comprising SSP Investigation Dr Anoosh Masood and Lahore Deputy Commissioner Rafia Haider paid a visit to the Kot Lakhpat jail (central jail in Lahore), where they said that 12 PTI women were being kept there and were being treated as per standard operating procedures (SOPs).
The two officers said they met everyone separately and questioned them over any mistreatment. Masood told the media that no male from jail staff could enter the area allocated for women prisoners, known as the female barracks. She also said that a female doctor, a psychologist and two lady health workers were there round the clock.
"All inmates in the case, including Khadija Shah, were fine," SSP Anoosh Masood told the media outside the prison.
Khadija Shah is a well-known Pakistani designer, who owns the luxury clothing brand Elan. She is the daughter of Pakistan's former finance minister Salman Shah. On May 23 Khadija turned herself into police custody after her father and husband were arrested and kept in custody for a few days.
The police have said that Khadija was at the forefront of the violent attacks carried out at the military installations in Lahore. Meanwhile, the designer maintained that she did not break any laws as she was protesting the arrest of Imran Khan peacefully. Her family took to social media to say that Khadija has been wrongfully accused of orchestrating the attacks.
Apart from the high profile arrests of Khadija and former health minister Yasmin Rashid, there are other PTI worker women who are currently in the same predicament at Kot Lakhpat Jail: their futures remain uncertain as the army chief General Asim Munir earlier vowed to carry out trials in military courts against civilians who attacked military installations across the country.
Poor Living Conditions in Lahore Jails
Meanwhile, Civil Society Network Pakistan’s Secretary Amina Malik has urged the Shehbaz Sharif's government to give access to a women delegation of civil society, bar associations and press clubs to meet the imprisoned women as concerns for their well-being is growing in the country.
Reports suggest that PTI women workers are falling sick inside the prison. It was said that Khadija Shah was having serious stomach issues, while another worker was suffering from asthma attacks. It should be noted that Pakistan's jails are notorious for their miserable living conditions. The cells are overcrowded to a great extent, which leads to poor hygiene and gaps in health facilities resulting in bad health and subsequently deaths.
Central Jail Kot Lakhpat Lahore is a maximum class security prison which has the authorized accommodation of 1053 prisoners, but over 3537 prisoners are confined there.
In April, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited the jail on Eid holiday and called the conditions “pathetic”.
He voiced concern over the condition of the toilets stressing the urgent need to improve the sanitation as current facilities would beget diseases. The prime minister also said that currently there were around 8000 prisoners in two Lahore jails, the second one being Camp Jail. Due to the huge number of inmates it takes months for sick prisoners to undergo required medical tests.
A report published last year noted that as many as 47 prisoners have died at Lahore's Camp Jail in one year alone due to "harsh weather conditions and other reasons". The report suggested that there are no heating systems inside the prisons, which means that in the cold winter months many inmates fall sick.
Moreover Punjab's scorching summer months also require facilities like air conditioning or at least coolers for inmates to live in the overcrowded cells, as they endure temperatures of over 45 degrees.
But as the crackdown on PTI workers continues it was reported yesterday that police have detained 532 suspects in connection with protests on May 9 and the attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ) and other army installations in the city of Rawalpindi. It remains unclear how many of these prisoners are women and what will happen to them.
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the columnist and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.