May 19, 2026
By Iqra Manzoor
LAHORE
A recent investigation by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) has uncovered widespread human rights violations inside rehabilitation and psychiatric centres across Pakistan, exposing what the Commission describes as a deeply broken system operating under the guise of care.Based on testimonies from former patients, site inspections, interviews with rehabilitation centre representatives and a review of legal and institutional frameworks, the investigation documents unlawful confinement, involuntary admissions, medical negligence, physical abuse and the denial of basic rights within rehabilitation facilities, particularly in Islamabad.
The report, titled “Caged in Care: Investigating Human Rights Violations in Rehabilitation Centres,” was launched under the Huqooq-e-Pakistan II project, supported by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and paints a disturbing picture of a system where women, minors and vulnerable individuals are allegedly institutionalised without informed consent, psychiatric evaluation or judicial oversight.
According to the investigation, rehabilitation centres or rehab across Pakistan have increasingly turned into spaces of confinement where individuals are stripped of dignity under the guise of treatment and care.
Women confined after family disputes
The report documents cases in which women were forcibly removed from their homes and admitted to rehabilitation facilities without consent, legal authority or medical justification.
One such case documented by NCHR involved a practicing lawyer whose confinement allegedly followed a property dispute with her brothers.
The report states that masked men entered the woman’s home, rendered her unconscious and transported her to a rehabilitation centre in Islamabad, where she remained confined until NCHR intervened following a complaint.
Investigators concluded that there was no medical basis for her detention and that the confinement appeared to be linked to an attempt to dispossess her of family property.
The report says such cases reflect a broader pattern in which rehabilitation centres are allegedly being used as tools of social and patriarchal control, particularly against women perceived as disobedient or resistant to family pressure.
According to the findings, women were frequently admitted following family disputes, resistance to forced marriages, property conflicts or attempts to exercise personal autonomy rather than clear medical necessity.
“A high-court lawyer abducted as she worked in her home, a young professional pulled from her bed in the dead of night,” the report states, describing cases in which women were forcibly taken to rehabilitation centres through so-called “involuntary pickups.”
‘A man climbed on top of me and injected me’
NCHR also documented testimonies of women allegedly being forcibly abducted and admitted to rehabilitation centres following domestic disputes.
One woman from Karachi told investigators that after an argument with her sister-in-law, a group of men arrived at her home, restrained her, injected her against her will and transported her to a rehabilitation facility.
Another woman stated that she was forcibly taken from her bedroom following a dispute with her father. “A man climbed on top of me. He grabbed me and injected me,” the report quotes her as saying.
The Commission noted that such incidents go beyond unlawful confinement and represent serious violations of bodily autonomy and human dignity carried out under the guise of treatment and family authority.
The investigation found that these pickups often involved teams physically restraining or sedating individuals before transporting them to facilities without consent.
No documents, no oversight
According to the report, NCHR found that 100 percent of the rehabilitation centres interviewed offered involuntary pickup services.
The report further states that every single centre informed investigators that no documentation was required for admission and that a verbal request from a family member alone was considered sufficient.
None of the facilities visited by NCHR reportedly required or verified guardianship certificates, even in cases involving adult women and children.
The findings also document troubling statements made by staff members during the investigation.
“We don’t need any tests or anything, just let us know the address where we should pick the patient up,” one facility director told investigators.
Another staff member reportedly stated: “Our male staff grabs the women when they are aggressive, but there is no skin-to-skin contact because the staff is wearing gloves.”
Once admitted, many patients reportedly had little to no access to legal recourse, complaint mechanisms or independent medical review.
Inside the rehabilitation centres
The report also highlights the gendered nature of abuse within rehabilitation centres, documenting cases of women being denied communication with their families, placed under intrusive surveillance and subjected to degrading treatment.
Investigators recorded unhygienic living conditions, overcrowded rooms, expired medicines and a lack of qualified psychiatric oversight in several facilities.
The report further alleges that many centres operated with underqualified staff and without proper medical supervision, while some facilities relied heavily on sedation, isolation and religious instruction instead of evidence-based psychiatric treatment.
Former patients interviewed during the investigation described monotonous routines lacking counselling, rehabilitation activities or meaningful therapeutic care.
In one case cited by the report, a patient told investigators: “We get up at 5 a.m. and spend the whole day praying. There was no treatment for my illness.”
Children housed with adults
The Commission further raised concerns regarding the treatment of children and adolescents, stating that minors as young as 15 were confined in adult wards in certain cases.
According to the report, many rehabilitation centres continue to function with minimal regulatory scrutiny despite handling highly vulnerable individuals.
A system operating in a legal vacuum
The findings indicate that Islamabad alone has around 300 such centres, while only 25 rehabilitation clinics are formally registered.
According to the report, registering a rehabilitation clinic with the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA) costs as little as Rs5,000, allowing many facilities to operate from converted residential properties with limited oversight.
The investigation states that despite advertising “advanced” and “high-tech” treatment services for issues ranging from substance dependence to so-called behavioural disorders, the reality inside many centres reflected serious neglect, poor healthcare practices and systemic abuse.
The report argues that Pakistan’s mental health infrastructure remains underregulated and fragmented, with inconsistent implementation of provincial laws and the absence of effective accountability mechanisms.
It warns that many rehabilitation centres are functioning more like detention facilities than healthcare institutions, where financial interests often outweigh patient welfare.
The Commission also noted that several of the documented practices violate constitutional protections related to dignity, liberty and equality, as well as Pakistan’s international human rights obligations concerning arbitrary detention, torture and discrimination.
‘Control has taken the place of care’
NCHR Chairperson Rabiya Javeri Agha said the investigation reflects a larger pattern of institutional neglect and patriarchal control.
“At the heart of this report are individuals who were placed in care but instead found themselves without adequate protection, voice, or recourse,” she said during the launch.
“This is not about isolated cases. It is about a system that has allowed control to take the place of care, particularly in the lives of women.”
Speaking at the launch, UNDP Pakistan Deputy Resident Representative Van Nguyen stressed the need for stronger monitoring and accountability mechanisms within institutional care systems.
“Strengthening trust in institutional care requires not only clear standards, but also effective implementation, monitoring, and accessible mechanisms for redress,” he said.
Calls for urgent reform
The report calls for urgent legal and institutional reforms, including stricter regulation of rehabilitation centres, independent monitoring mechanisms, stronger safeguards for involuntary admissions and accessible complaint systems for patients.
It also recommends improved psychiatric oversight, gender-sensitive protections and legal reforms to ensure that institutional care cannot be misused to suppress dissent, autonomy or personal choice.
The launch of the report brought together government officials, legal experts, civil society representatives and development partners to discuss reforms aimed at improving accountability and safeguarding the rights of individuals admitted to rehabilitation and psychiatric facilities.
The investigation has once again raised pressing questions about the state of mental healthcare regulation in Pakistan and whether rehabilitation centres, meant to provide treatment and recovery, are instead becoming spaces where abuse remains hidden behind closed doors.