Pakistan's former human rights minister has been arrested by anti-corruption police, authorities in Islamabad confirmed on May 21, after her daughter and another former minister said she had been mistreated during the arrest.
Shireen Mazari, who served in former Prime Minister Imran Khan's cabinet, was detained by police near her home in the Pakistani capital, her daughter, Imaan Mazari, said on Twitter.
"Male police have beaten and taken my mother away. All I have been told is that Anti Corruption Wing Lahore has arrested her."
Fawad Chaudhry, former information minister in Khan's cabinet, said on Geo TV that Mazari, a senior leader in Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) party, was manhandled during the arrest.
He alleged that Mazari had been politically targeted by the new administration of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in connection with a land dispute allegation dating back to 1972.
Islamabad police confirmed the arrest on Twitter but said that female officers arrested her "in accordance with the law." A video of the arrest that circulated on social media showed female police officers detaining Mazari.
The tweet added that reports that she was mishandled were "baseless" and said Mazari was arrested at the request of the anti-corruption department.
Mazari has been critical of Sharif's government, which took office after Khan's government was toppled in April in a no-confidence vote.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan condemned the arrest and alleged manhandling of Mazari, arguing that it "smacks of political victimization, which has regrettably become an entrenched practice and is deplorable no matter which party is the perpetrator."
Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, a vocal human rights defender whose party is allied with Sharif's, criticized the arrest as the "worst form of political oppression."
Former Pakistani Government's Human Rights Minister Arrested
![Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry (center) and Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari (right) talk with journalists during a press conference in Islamabad in April 2021.](https://gdb.rferl.org/804ef8a2-170c-4cd7-b445-aa494fc41035_w250_r1_s.jpg)
Editor's Picks
Subscribe
Afghanistan/Pakistan Trending
1
Taliban Intensifies Crackdown On Dissent In Afghanistan
2Afghan Women Head To Olympics On Equal Footing
3Afghan Talks Kick Off In Doha Amid Anger Over Taliban’s Exclusion Of Women
4The Push To Recognize 'Gender Apartheid' As A Crime
540 Dead, Hundreds Injured After Heavy Rain, Storms In Eastern Afghanistan
6Fearful Of Losing Their Livelihoods, Pakistanis Oppose Latest Military Operation
7New Extremist Groups -- At Least In Name -- Enter Pakistan's Militant Scene
8Interview: Pakistani Islamist Leader Opposes Military Operation To Root Out Militants
9'Widespread Fear': Spate Of Killings In Pakistan's Restive Northwest Targets Journalists
10Homes Of Afghan Migrants Reportedly Attacked After Killing Of Iranian
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.