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A court case from Pakistan's Punjab province has reignited concerns over alleged extrajudicial killings and police impunity after authorities admitted in 2023 that two men, who had been reported missing by their family, were killed in a police "encounter" in Sheikhupura and secretly buried months earlier.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), in a series of posts on X, highlighted the case, raising fresh questions about the effectiveness of Pakistan's laws aimed at preventing custodial torture and ensuring accountability for abuses by law enforcement agencies. According to HRCP, the case, Surraiya Bibi v. Regional Police Officer Sheikhupura, was presented by Pakistan before the United Nations Committee Against Torture as an example of progress in addressing custodial abuse. However, the rights body argued that the facts of the case point to serious shortcomings in the country's accountability mechanisms. HRCP stated that Surraiya Bibi approached the Lahore High Court in 2023 seeking information about her missing brother-in-law and nephew, who had allegedly been taken by police. During court proceedings, police reportedly admitted that both men had been killed three months earlier in an alleged encounter and buried without informing their families. The organisation noted that Pakistani law requires an immediate inquest into every encounter death and mandates that allegations of custodial torture be referred to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). HRCP alleged that neither process was properly followed in this case. More than two years after the deaths, no investigations have been completed, no prosecutions have been launched and no officials have been held accountable, according to the commission. HRCP further claimed that since the enactment of Pakistan's Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act in 2022, no FIA investigation under the law has resulted in a conviction. The rights body said the Sheikhupura case illustrates how encounter killings continue to evade scrutiny, despite legal safeguards intended to ensure justice and accountability. (ANI)
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