THE killing of nine suspects by Punjab’s Crime Control Department across Lahore, Sahiwal and Toba Tek Singh follows a disturbingly familiar script. Armed suspects allegedly open fire; police return fire; suspects are found dead; accomplices escape into the darkness. The narrative is consistent across multiple, dispersed operations and raises questions about the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. These deaths come just months after a damning HRCP report accused the CCD of pursuing a “deliberate policy of staged police encounters leading to extrajudicial killings”. The statistics are staggering: at least 670 CCD-led encounters over eight months in 2025, resulting in 924 deaths of suspects. The recent incidents underscore the issues the HRCP documented. In Lahore alone, six suspects died in separate operations, with police offering accounts of armed resistance. In Sahiwal, two men who had already escaped custody were intercepted and killed within hours. In Toba Tek Singh, an alleged drug dealer was shot dead at a checkpoint after purportedly opening ‘indiscriminate fire’. The pattern points to a culture of impunity in which lethal force has become the default response to crime. Such extrajudicial violence does not make citizens safer. It erodes the rule of law and public trust in institutions meant to protect them. When suspects are killed before they can face trial, justice is not served but circumvented.

The Punjab government cannot afford to treat these killings and the HRCP’s findings as mere criticism to be dismissed. An inquiry into all CCD-related deaths is imperative. Every encounter must be subjected to transparent review and the personnel involved must be required to justify the use of lethal force in each instance. Those found culpable of unlawful killings must face prosecution. The Punjab government should decide whether the CCD will operate as a law enforcement body or a death squad. The answer will define its commitment to justice itself.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2026