Punjab Police Kill Over 900 People in Eight Months

Human Rights Report Documents Record Number of Extrajudicial Killings by Punjab Police Unit

A report released by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has found that Punjab’s Crime Control Department (CCD) is involved in a systematic policy of extrajudicial killings. The CCD, established in April 2025 to combat organized crime, has been linked to at least 670 “encounters” resulting in 924 suspected deaths between its formation and December 2025.

According to the report, armed officers from the CCD raided the home of Zubaida Bibi in Bahawalpur city in November last year, taking everything including her sons. Within 24 hours, five members of her family were killed in separate “police encounters” across different districts of Punjab.

The HRCP documented that the CCD has pursued a policy of extrajudicial killing, which is contrary to the law and Constitution. The report also found that the CCD operates with virtual impunity, leading to a sharp spike in encounter killings.

The Human Rights Commission’s director, Farah Zia, stated that Punjab was historically where encounter killings first took root in the 1960s due to an existing policing culture of impunity for torture. She noted that the practice later spread to other provinces and that governments have chosen short-term measures to curb crime rather than investing in better forensic investigation techniques and community-based policing.

The CCD was established under the Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s “Safe Punjab” vision, aimed at tackling serious and organized crime. However, the report found a sustained rise in police encounters across Punjab within weeks of the CCD’s formation, with over 900 suspects killed in eight months.

The HRCP’s annual State of Human Rights reports document hundreds of police encounters each year elsewhere, particularly in Sindh. The report highlights the need for governments to invest in effective prosecution and community-based policing rather than relying on short-term measures that lead to human rights violations.

Source: Al Jazeera