Criminalise police brutality

Letter July 06, 2020
Our police practise violence for testimonies and confessions and there are no records accounting for what happens in interrogation rooms

In recent times, rampant abuse of power has become one of the biggest hazards our country has had to face regarding law enforcement agencies. Ever since the power structure was established, blatant violation of human rights by the police have become the norm.

However, with the Black Lives Matter movement taking flight from America to other parts of the world, we can finally refocus our attention to issues long ignored by Pakistan’s government. It is disheartening to be part of a society that has constitutional clarity when addressing problems as minute as trespassing yet fails to establish laws that criminalise police brutality. In Pakistan’s Penal Code there is not a single section that directly addresses torture at the hands of the police. This is astounding considering Pakistan’s participation in treaties such as the United Nations’ CAT (Convention Against Torture). Even with the establishment of such laws, this is no cause to celebrate. Examples like clause 155 and 156 of the Police report of 2002 are merely pity laws that remain irrelevant lest they should lead to actual action against such maltreatment.

It is deeply saddening that our police forces still practise violence for testimonies and confessions and there are no records accounting for what exactly happens behind the doors of their interrogation rooms. It is high time for the authorities to pass the multiple bills presented to the assembly and criminalise police brutality once and for all, for the safety of the community and the generations to come.

Nawaal Adeeb

Lahore

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2020.

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