LAHORE: A judicial magistrate on Wednesday granted police a three-day physical remand of a woman in connection with an Azeri woman’s “gang-rape” case.

The 20-year-old Azerbaijan national had travelled to Pakistan for business purposes and was allegedly gang-raped by three men in a flat of a housing society located near Raiwind on Sept 25.

In her statement, the complainant had also named two local women whom she had met before the men suspected of raping her joined them. Two of the male suspects were arrested and sent on a six-day physical remand by the court on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, one of the female suspects was produced before Judicial Magistrate Azhar Mahmood at the Cantonment Courts.

A prosecutor informed the court that it would be her first physical remand and argued that, being a woman, she could be kept in jail during her physical remand.

A counsel for the suspect contended that her relationship with the complainant was limited to friendship only. He argued that physical remand of a woman could not be sought except in offences of murder or robbery. He submitted that nothing was required to be recovered from the suspect.

The magistrate asked the suspect whether she wanted to undergo a medical examination. “No, I do not want to undergo a medical examination,” she replied.

The magistrate then allowed a three-day physical remand of the suspect to the police. He directed that the woman suspect would remain in police custody from sunrise to sunset and, for rest, would remain in jail in judicial custody.

On Tuesday last, a sessions court had granted interim pre-arrest bail to the second female suspect in the case, restraining police from arresting her till Oct 5. The woman’s lawyer said her client wanted to join the police investigation to prove her innocence.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2026