(London) – Pakistani authorities should ensure a prompt, independent, and transparent criminal investigation into the deaths on August 5, 2026, of a woman and a 17-year-old girl in police custody in Lahore, Punjab province, Human Rights Watch said today.
The deaths of the sisters-in-law, identified only as Anmol and Amina, highlight longstanding concerns about torture and other ill-treatment in police custody, particularly of women, and the persistent failure by the authorities to hold police officers accountable for abuse despite passage of a 2022 law to address the problem.
“The authorities in Lahore have obligations under Pakistani and international law to promptly and impartially investigate the deaths of a woman and girl in police custody,” said Patricia Gossman, senior Asia associate director at Human Rights Watch. “That investigation needs to be independent of the officers under scrutiny, and those responsible for any wrongdoing need to be appropriately prosecuted.”
Lahore police stated that on August 4 at 2:45 p.m., they received a complaint from a local resident alleging that the women had entered his house and taken gold ornaments and cash. Other reports indicate that residents apprehended the two sisters-in-law—identified only as Anmol and Amina—and handed them over to the police.
The police said that they registered a First Information Report that afternoon and that one sister-in-law was moved to the Lytton Road police station under female officers’ supervision and the other to the Township police station. The police claimed that within hours of their transfers, the health of both sharply deteriorated. Anmol, the woman, died at the police station and Amina died after being moved to a hospital.
The autopsies were delayed by nearly two days because the police had not completed the necessary formalities. Some officials attributed the delay to difficulties in verifying the women’s identity documents. 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, Human Rights Watch said.
The autopsy reports indicated that both died following cardiac arrest, without establishing an actual cause of death. The examiners have said they have sent medical evidence to a forensic laboratory for analysis.
The families dispute the police account, saying that after police told them about the arrests, they went to the Township police station and were told that the two had been sent to jail and that they should arrange bail. On August 6, the authorities released the bodies to their families.
The families have alleged that both bodies had torn clothes and marks of torture, and that the police offered them money to stay silent. The police have denied these allegations and have said that initial inquiry reports indicated that the woman and girl were chronic drug users who may have overdosed.
A magistrate has begun an inquiry, and investigators involved have visited the Township police station, inspected the bodies at the mortuary, and recorded statements from police personnel and family members.
Under Pakistani law, a magisterial inquiry is not a substitute for a criminal investigation. Under the 2022 Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act, the Federal Investigative Agency is to investigate complaints of torture and custodial death against public officials, subject to supervision by the National Commission for Human Rights. However, no report appears to have been registered against any police official in connection with the deaths.
The deaths followed the alleged rape of a woman with a disability inside Ghaziabad police station in Lahore on August 2, for which an assistant sub-inspector is under investigation. All 78 staff members at the station have been suspended.
Human Rights Watch has documented beatings, sexual violence, sleep deprivation, and other forms of physical and psychological abuse in police custody. Women and girls in custody frequently experience mistreatment and abuse, including sexual assault, rape, and pressure to engage in sex in exchange for food or favors.
Torture is prohibited under Pakistan’s Constitution, which sets out safeguards, including to present the detainee before a magistrate within 24 hours.
Pakistan is also party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture, which require prompt, impartial, and effective investigation of any allegation of torture or death in custody. Pakistan is also party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that the “arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.”
Official data indicate that the 2022 law is poorly enforced and the problem remains widespread. In May, the Federal Investigation Agency told the Lahore High Court that as of April 30, it had registered 364 inquiries nationwide under the law but that only 52 had become formal criminal cases.
The 266 inquiries in Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital, produced only 19 registered First Information Reports. The agency said limitations in resources and budget affected its ability to enforce the law. Implementation has also been slow: the rules required to put the 2022 legislation into operation were approved only in November 2025.
The authorities should register a criminal case under the 2022 act and ensure that the investigation is carried out by investigators independent of the Punjab police, with effective National Commission for Human Rights oversight. All available evidence should be preserved and independently examined. Police officials credibly implicated should be removed from any role in which they could interfere with the investigation, consistent with due process, and anyone responsible should be prosecuted in proceedings that meet international fair trial standards.
The authorities should also strengthen safeguards in all detention facilities, particularly for women and children, including providing immediate access to lawyers and independent medical examinations, accurate custody records, and prompt notification of family members. Officials should strictly comply with the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), including supervision by women police officers in sites other than ordinary station lockups, and confidential complaint mechanisms that detainees can use without fear of retaliation.
“The deaths of Anmol and Amina will be a test of whether the government is prepared to make the 2002 law work when police officers are implicated,” Gossman said. “The government has a duty to ensure that police stations are places where the law is enforced, not places where people can be abused and the abuse can be explained away.”
