Islamabad, February 3 (NationPress) The ongoing issue of police encounter killings and the glaring absence of transparency, investigations, or accountability surrounding them in Punjab, Pakistan, points to a serious level of criminality within the State, according to a recent report. As of early 2025, the Crime Control Department (CCD) of Punjab Police, alongside its political backers, seems to be adhering to a well-established narrative.

Established via an executive order following the Punjab cabinet's approval last year, the department's authority and responsibilities have been formalized through the Police Order (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, encompassing operational and investigative police functions, legal work, intelligence, and data collection through various surveillance methods.

Characterized as an excessively empowered specialized police unit, the CCD was created to implement the Chief Minister's 'zero crime policy'. This unit operates with virtually unrestricted power to enforce zero tolerance policing. Its operations draw parallels with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s Federal Security Force, as well as elite units like Nigeria's Special Anti-Robbery Squad and Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion — all notorious for their involvement in human rights violations while aiming to eradicate serious crimes, terrorism, and political dissent,” highlighted Zoha Waseem, an Assistant Professor at the University of Warwick, in an article for Dawn's Prism.

The report indicates that more than 400 suspected criminals were killed in over 800 CCD encounters between January and June 2025. Estimates from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reveal that since October of the previous year, more than 670 individuals have lost their lives in police encounters across Punjab, a number surpassing that of any other province. These victims included dacoits, drug traffickers, gang members, child abusers, and sexual offenders.

A recent petition filed in the Lahore High Court in January has disclosed that since the CCD's inception, 1,100 citizens have perished in such encounters. The petition claims that “fake encounters are being utilized as a substitute for the criminal justice system” and deems them illegal and unconstitutional. This legal action follows various statements and rulings from superior courts last year, during which government officials, including those from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Punjab Police, were summoned to ensure adherence to constitutional protections, as detailed in Dawn's Prism.

According to the law, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is mandated to investigate deaths and allegations of torture in police custody. However, reports indicate that as of November last year, no investigations have been launched into the CCD's alleged encounter killings. Meanwhile, the department has dismissed allegations of staged or fake encounters.

The spokesperson for the CCD argued, “These criminals do not greet us with flowers; they fire at us the moment they see us... during these operations, if a few individuals are killed, it represents less than one percent of our overall activities.” Reports suggest that dozens of such “few individuals” were killed in encounters by CCD operatives in December 2025, right after the petition was filed in the Lahore High Court.

“On one particular day, a 'series of encounters' across the province led to the deaths of at least 23 suspected drug traffickers, with 16 killed in Gujranwala alone. Such statistics should raise serious concerns. The continuous occurrence of police encounter killings—combined with the absence of transparency, investigations, or accountability—underscores the criminality of the state, the indifference of the 'respectable public', and the limitations of institutional reforms,” remarked Zoha Waseem.