Pakistan police 'execute
hundreds'
Human rights activists allege the encounters are staged
By Richard Galpin in Lahore
Pakistan's police force has been fiercely criticised by
senior lawyers and human rights activists for what they
believe to be a deliberate policy of extra-judicial killings.
They say hundreds of alleged criminals in two of the
country's main provinces, Punjab and Sindh, have been
executed by policemen.
According to an investigation by one
authoritative newspaper in Pakistan,
more than 850 suspected criminals
have been killed by the police in
Punjab province alone, since the present Muslim League
government came to power in 1997.
Punjab is the home province of Prime Minister, Nawaz
Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, is the provincial
Chief Minister.
Deaths in 'encounters'
The killings are reported in the local press as "police
encounters" and generally take place late at night in
deserted areas where there are unlikely to be any
eye-witnesses.
Observers say the number
being killed in Punjab is now
at a level "unprecedented" in
the province's history.
In just one week in May, 20
suspected criminals were
shot dead in these so-called
"encounters", which human
rights activists say are
thinly-disguised extra-judicial
killings.
In many cases the alleged
criminals are already under police custody and the
explanation given by the police for these bloody
"shoot-outs" is frequently the same.
The police say the suspects
were being transported to the
"scene of the crime" to
recover illegal weapons or
identify hide-outs.
On the way, the police allege
that the convoy is attacked
by accomplices of the
arrested men in an attempt
to rescue them and in the
resulting shoot-out, all the men in custody are "killed in
cross-fire".
Human rights reports
However, Rana Jawad, a senior journalist in Lahore who
has covered the Punjab police for many years, says the
police are lying.
He says that 95% or even more of police encounters in
recent times are absolutely fake.
"We call these encounters cold-blooded murder by the
police," she says.
The charge that the police
are frequently involved in
extra-judicial killings of
suspected criminals, is
backed up by recent reports
on human rights in Pakistan
by both Amnesty
International and the US
State Department.
"The police committed
numerous extra-judicial
killings and tortured, abused
and raped citizens," says the
US State Department report.
The victims of "police encounters" vary from alleged
car-thieves, burglars and gangsters to high-profile
criminals accused of multiple murders or terrorist
attacks.
All three men arrested in connection with the attempted
assassination of the Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, in
January were killed within days of being detained by the
police.
Government denial
A doctor who carries out post-mortem examinations of
police encounter victims in Lahore confirmed to the BBC
that the police in Punjab are effectively executing
suspected criminals.
He said that in 50% of the
cases he had dealt with it
was clear that the victim had
been tied up and then shot at
close range.
Likewise, senior Punjab
police officials privately admit
that at least 50% of police
encounters are fake.
"This is obviously a policy
and the policy cannot be
made at a lower level," says
top lawyer Hina Jilani.
The government vehemently denies this.
It says the encounters are not staged and that 240
policemen have been killed in shoot-outs with criminals
since February 1997.
But the Punjab Law Minister, Raja Basharat, did tell the
BBC that the police have been carrying out extra-judicial
killings.
"I agree with you," he said, "but the number is so small
that I think with the passage of time and with the
emphasis of the government in discouraging it and the
way the government is taking action against police
officials, this number will diminish."
But lawyers and doctors in Punjab are not satisfied with
such assurances and have set up their own committee
to investigate the problem.
They hope to bring those responsible to justice.
hundreds'
Human rights activists allege the encounters are staged
By Richard Galpin in Lahore
Pakistan's police force has been fiercely criticised by
senior lawyers and human rights activists for what they
believe to be a deliberate policy of extra-judicial killings.
They say hundreds of alleged criminals in two of the
country's main provinces, Punjab and Sindh, have been
executed by policemen.
According to an investigation by one
authoritative newspaper in Pakistan,
more than 850 suspected criminals
have been killed by the police in
Punjab province alone, since the present Muslim League
government came to power in 1997.
Punjab is the home province of Prime Minister, Nawaz
Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, is the provincial
Chief Minister.
Deaths in 'encounters'
The killings are reported in the local press as "police
encounters" and generally take place late at night in
deserted areas where there are unlikely to be any
eye-witnesses.
Observers say the number
being killed in Punjab is now
at a level "unprecedented" in
the province's history.
In just one week in May, 20
suspected criminals were
shot dead in these so-called
"encounters", which human
rights activists say are
thinly-disguised extra-judicial
killings.
In many cases the alleged
criminals are already under police custody and the
explanation given by the police for these bloody
"shoot-outs" is frequently the same.
The police say the suspects
were being transported to the
"scene of the crime" to
recover illegal weapons or
identify hide-outs.
On the way, the police allege
that the convoy is attacked
by accomplices of the
arrested men in an attempt
to rescue them and in the
resulting shoot-out, all the men in custody are "killed in
cross-fire".
Human rights reports
However, Rana Jawad, a senior journalist in Lahore who
has covered the Punjab police for many years, says the
police are lying.
He says that 95% or even more of police encounters in
recent times are absolutely fake.
"We call these encounters cold-blooded murder by the
police," she says.
The charge that the police
are frequently involved in
extra-judicial killings of
suspected criminals, is
backed up by recent reports
on human rights in Pakistan
by both Amnesty
International and the US
State Department.
"The police committed
numerous extra-judicial
killings and tortured, abused
and raped citizens," says the
US State Department report.
The victims of "police encounters" vary from alleged
car-thieves, burglars and gangsters to high-profile
criminals accused of multiple murders or terrorist
attacks.
All three men arrested in connection with the attempted
assassination of the Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, in
January were killed within days of being detained by the
police.
Government denial
A doctor who carries out post-mortem examinations of
police encounter victims in Lahore confirmed to the BBC
that the police in Punjab are effectively executing
suspected criminals.
He said that in 50% of the
cases he had dealt with it
was clear that the victim had
been tied up and then shot at
close range.
Likewise, senior Punjab
police officials privately admit
that at least 50% of police
encounters are fake.
"This is obviously a policy
and the policy cannot be
made at a lower level," says
top lawyer Hina Jilani.
The government vehemently denies this.
It says the encounters are not staged and that 240
policemen have been killed in shoot-outs with criminals
since February 1997.
But the Punjab Law Minister, Raja Basharat, did tell the
BBC that the police have been carrying out extra-judicial
killings.
"I agree with you," he said, "but the number is so small
that I think with the passage of time and with the
emphasis of the government in discouraging it and the
way the government is taking action against police
officials, this number will diminish."
But lawyers and doctors in Punjab are not satisfied with
such assurances and have set up their own committee
to investigate the problem.
They hope to bring those responsible to justice.
Comment