MULTAN, May 30: The Lahore police shifted eight PPP women activists to the women jail here on Thursday night.

The activists were Sajida Mir, Zobaida Saif, Shamim Niazi, Sughra Begum, Surraya Bhatti, Fahmida Rizvi, Firdaus Nasim and Bushra Sarfraz.

Earlier, a case was registered against all of them at the Lahore cantonment police station (181/03) under sections 148/149, 291, 290, 188, 186 and 353 PPC.

They were taken into custody in the provincial capital when they were protesting against the arrest and torture of the opposition members of the Punjab Assembly.

In a statement, PPP Multan city president and a former MPA Khursheed Khan condemned the government for hindering political activities and sending women activists to a far-off area. He described the tactics of provincial government of Chaudhry Pervez Elahi as ‘barbaric’.

Multan task force coordinator of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Rashid Rehman termed the shifting of women activists from Lahore to Multan a bid on the part of the government to deny them access to justice against state oppression.

He said the sections under which the case had been instituted against them were all bailable, and, moreover, none of the shifted women activists had any kind of criminal record that warranted their transfer to a far-off city.