{"id":17484,"date":"2026-03-09T16:57:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T16:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/2026\/03\/09\/rights-body-court-petition-islamabad-women-march\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T16:57:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T16:57:40","slug":"rights-body-court-petition-islamabad-women-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/2026\/03\/09\/rights-body-court-petition-islamabad-women-march\/","title":{"rendered":"Rights Body Moves to Court Over Islamabad Women March"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <strong>Human Rights Commission of Pakistan<\/strong> announced it will file a writ petition after condemning violence and mass detentions by Islamabad police during the Islamabad Women March. The decision was announced at a press conference at the National Press Club in Islamabad attended by HRCP Secretary General Haris Khalique, march organiser Dr Farzana Bari and other organisers and supporters.<\/p>\n<p>Speakers said the Islamabad Women March had been called as a peaceful observance of International Women\u2019s Day but was met with state force. Organisers noted they have faced repeated obstacles obtaining a no-objection certificate since 2018 and that their recent request submitted a month and a half in advance received no reply. They stressed that as citizens they retain the constitutional right to assemble and express views and reserve the right to legally challenge any rules that curb those rights.<\/p>\n<p>Those arrested and detained included senior organisers, supporters who came to police stations to seek information, and dozens of participants. Account figures shared at the conference put ages of detainees between 14 and 73 years, with roughly 35 men and 44 women taken into custody. Two pregnant women and underage girls were among those reportedly subjected to physical mistreatment, with complaints of hair being pulled and harsh handling. Many detainees were held for hours in overcrowded lockups, where conditions made breathing difficult.<\/p>\n<p>Organisers and witnesses also reported that police seized mobile phones and other personal items and compelled detainees to unlock devices so messages and data could be inspected. HRCP said these actions were aimed at creating fear and anxiety, and that young girls in particular were subjected to degrading treatment. Journalists covering the event were not spared; a reporter said she was detained at a women\u2019s police station while attempting to identify herself and that her phone was targeted during the encounter.<\/p>\n<p>One account described officers from ATS and Special Branch accusing organisers and journalists of working against the state and alleging violations of Section 144. Such claims, HRCP representatives said, do not justify the level of force used or the reported violations of dignity and privacy. They called the conduct unacceptable in any civil society and warned against normalising such treatment.<\/p>\n<p>At the press briefing HRCP demanded an independent, transparent investigation into the events of the march, urged prompt action against officers found responsible, and announced it would approach the courts to seek redress. Organisers reiterated that their campaign for women\u2019s rights and safe public space will continue while they pursue legal and civic remedies following the Islamabad Women March.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HRCP files a court petition after Islamabad Women March violence, demanding an independent probe and accountability for alleged police abuses and detentions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":17483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}