Lahore Police have introduced a new directive stating that no woman, whether a complainant or an accused, will be allowed to remain inside a police station after Maghrib.
According to DIG Operations Muhammad Faisal Kamran, the decision has been taken to protect women’s dignity and ensure their safety amid growing concerns over crimes against women.
The directive comes in the wake of the arrest of a police assistant sub-inspector (ASI) accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman. Following the incident, authorities suspended 78 police officers as part of disciplinary action.
While police officials have described the measure as a step to safeguard women, critics argue that the priority should be making police stations safe, secure, and accessible for women at all hours rather than restricting their presence after sunset.
According to media reports, the entire staff of Lahore’s Ghaziabad Police Station has been suspended after an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) was accused of raping a young woman inside the police station.
According to DIG Operations Muhammad Faisal Kamran, the alleged assault took place on Sunday inside a room on the upper floor of the police station. The woman later identified the room in the presence of senior police officials during the investigation.
The DIG said all officers and personnel posted at the police station were suspended for failing to prevent the incident and for not questioning why the ASI had brought a woman to the station without any female police personnel present. More than 70 police officials have been suspended.
A case has been registered at Ghaziabad Police Station under Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which relates to rape, and Section 155-C of the Police Order, 2002, covering police misconduct.
According to the FIR, the complainant, the woman’s father, stated that his approximately 20-year-old daughter, who is mentally impaired, went missing on Sunday afternoon. While searching for her, a bystander reportedly informed the family that a man believed to be a police officer in civilian clothes had taken her away.
The family later went to Ghaziabad Police Station at around 9 p.m., but before they arrived, they were informed that the woman had returned home. The FIR states that she was in tears and told her family that a police official had taken her on a motorcycle before allegedly sexually assaulting her.
Police have launched an investigation into the incident, while disciplinary action has been initiated against the suspended personnel.
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