KARACHI:Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Anwar Tuesday denied the allegation that the detained women were being ill-treated.

Addressing a press conference, he said women were interrogated only by lady police officers in custody. He took a swipe at those who spread the lie that the women released from prison had cuts and bruises on their bodies.

He came down hard on those spreading lies that women being released from jail had cuts and wounds on their bodies. “A lady gynecologist, lady phycologist, and lady doctors are present in jail,” he said, adding that their washrooms were also separate.”

“The state is responsible, the country knows what to do. We are going to protect our institutions and installations but we are not going to let go of human rights,” he said.

Lahore SSP Investigation Anoosh Masood said a total of 15 women have been arrested in Punjab in connection with May 9 – 13 in Lahore and two in Rawalpindi.

Addressing the press conference, she dismissed reports of the mistreatment of the imprisoned women, terming them “totally wrong” and “uncalled for”.

“No males can enter the premises [where they are kept],” she asserted, assuring that they were being provided all the needed medical treatment.

She also clarified that among them, PTI leader Dr Yasmin Rashid was being allowed to meet visitors since she was on judicial remand but the rest couldn’t be allowed since they “are jailed [for] the identity parade”.