Two Women Died Mysteriously in Police Custody in Lahore, Pakistan
- Human Rights Research Center
- 8 hours ago
- 4 min read
Author: Eman Butt
August 18, 2026
HRRC is concerned by the deaths of two women in police custody and calls on Pakistani authorities to ensure that police stations serve as places of safety and protection. As a state party to international human rights treaties, Pakistan must ensure that its law enforcement departments comply with their national and international obligations to protect and respect human rights. HRRC further urges authorities to conduct an independent, impartial and transparent investigation into the deaths, ensuring due process and fair-trial rights and holding those responsible accountable in accordance with the law.
A local resident of Lahore named Zeeshan Latif, lodged a First Information Report on August 4, alleging that two women, Anmol and 17-year-old Amina, entered his house and asked his wife for water, when she went to fetch water, they allegedly stole her gold ornaments and PKR 5,000.
The women were subsequently taken to Township Police Station after being apprehended by local residents. However, one of them was later transferred to Lytton Road Police Station.
According to initial reports, their health worsened while they were in police custody due to uncertain reasons. Both women reportedly fainted at their respective police stations, a claim also confirmed by officials of the operation wing to the rescue team. They were subsequently taken to hospital, where they were pronounced dead on arrival by doctors.
Their autopsies were delayed for two days, which police officers attributed to the “absence of the deceased women’s identification documents and the inability to locate their legal heirs”.
The officials attributed the death to the women’s alleged drug addiction and that they may have been overdosed when they were brought to the police station.
They also showed a video recording where one of the women purportedly asked the policeman to arrange narcotics for her. However, according to the autopsy report, both of the women died due to cardiac arrest, without establishing the actual cause of death.
On August 12, 2026, Human Rights Watch raised serious concerns regarding this case, stating that, “Unnecessary delays in examining a body after a death in custody, particularly if attributed in part to the same department whose officers are implicated, indicate a failure of the duty to investigate”.
The family of the victims, however, alleged that “when they went to the police station, they were told that the women had been taken to jail and that they should arrange bail for them. The family said that the women's bodies were instead handed over to them on August 6 and they had been offered money to remain silent, claiming that the bodies bore marks that they believed were consistent with torture and that the women's clothes were torn apart”.
Article 14 of the constitution of the Pakistan guarantees the inviolability of human dignity and prohibits torture for extracting evidence.
Pakistan has also enacted Torture and Custodial death (Prevention and Protection) Act in 2022 to provide protection to a person during custody from all acts of torture perpetrated by public officials. However, the act is poorly enforced. The act requires that the Federal Investigative Agency shall have the exclusive jurisdiction to investigate the complaints against any public officials under the supervision of National Commission for Human Rights of Pakistan. However, despite this statutory requirement, only a magisterial inquiry has reportedly been initiated into the deaths.
This raises serious concerns about Pakistan’s compliance with its statutory obligations. Human Rights Watch has urged Pakistani authorities to comply with the provisions of the 2022 Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act , preserve all the evidences and ensure that an independent investigation is conducted without the involvement of the police officers implicated in the case. It has also called for due process to be respected and for those responsible be prosecuted according to international fair trial standards.
Glossary
Apprehended: To seize, either physically or mentally.
Autopsy: An examination of a body after death to determine the cause of death or the character and extent of changes produced by disease.
Cardiac Arrest: A cardiac arrest is when your heart has stopped beating and blood is not being pumped around your body.
Custody: Immediate charge and control (as over a ward or a suspect) exercised by a person or an authority.
Custodial Death: The death of a person while in custody, directly or indirectly caused by and attributable to acts of torture committed upon the deceased while in custody.
Due Process: It contemplates an exercise of the powers of government as the law permits and sanctions, under recognized safeguards for the protection of individual rights.
Exclusive Jurisdiction: The authority only a specific court holds to hear a particular case, barring all other courts.
Fair Trial: A legal process designed to ensure that individuals accused of crimes are treated justly and afforded essential protections.
Impartial: Able to judge or consider something fairly without allowing your own interest to influence you.
Magisterial Inquiry: Under Section 173 of Criminal Procedure Code of Pakistan, a magistrate is empowered to inquire into the cause of death when a person dies in police custody or under some suspicious circumstances.
Narcotics: A drug (such as opium or morphine) that in moderate doses dulls the senses, relieves pain, and induces profound sleep but in excessive doses causes stupor, coma, or convulsions.
Ornaments: An object that is decorative rather than useful.
Provision: A provision in legal contexts refers to a specific clause, term, or condition contained within a statute.
Purported: It means to profess or claim something, often implying that the claim may be an appearance rather than a verified fact.
Statutory: It means enacted, created, or regulated by law.
Torture: An act committed by which severe physical pain or physical suffering, is intentionally inflicted on a person.
