{"id":5622,"date":"2019-01-21T06:19:37","date_gmt":"2019-01-21T06:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hrcp-web.org\/hrcpweb\/?p=5622"},"modified":"2021-10-01T06:20:51","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T06:20:51","slug":"brutish-trend-of-extrajudicial-killings-unacceptable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrcp-web.org\/hrcpweb\/brutish-trend-of-extrajudicial-killings-unacceptable\/","title":{"rendered":"Brutish trend of extrajudicial killings unacceptable"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brutish trend of extrajudicial killings unacceptable<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lahore, 21 January 2019<\/em>. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said that it is \u2018horrified\u2019 at the recent incident in which four individuals were killed by an elite force of the Punjab police, allegedly in a counter-terrorism operation. In a statement issued today, HRCP has said that, \u2018increasingly, it appears that what was initially termed \u201can encounter with terrorists\u201d was the unnecessary, violent death of four people, including two parents and their teenage daughter.<\/p>\n

\u2018This incident is deeply troubling at several levels. The first is the alleged absence of any sign of due process. There is no question that the violence perpetrated by terrorist organizations must be eliminated. However, \u2018encounter killings\u2019 that rapidly resurface as \u2018extrajudicial murders\u2019 \u2013 once more and more facts emerge and are verified \u2013 simply cannot continue to be argued as a \u201cnecessary evil\u201d to uphold the rule of law.<\/p>\n

\u2018Second, that this incident should initially have been brushed off as \u201ccollateral damage\u201d is a dire sign of how high our tolerance for impunity \u2013 as a state and society \u2013 has risen. Third, the rate at which accounts of the incident have changed and the contradictions therein point to a distorted mechanism that betrays little coordination between the various branches of the state concerned. This needs to be rectified swiftly.<\/p>\n

\u2018HRCP reiterates the need for investing heavily and sensibly in law enforcement agency reforms and training that will help minimize the incidence of \u2018encounter\u2019 killings. Equally, all law enforcement personnel as well as the public, the media and the people\u2019s elected representatives must be sensitized to the state\u2019s constitutional duty to ensure that no person should be \u201cdeprived of life or liberty save in accordance with the law\u201d. A key part of this implies understanding that the second clause of this fundamental right is not an excuse to widen the net to include \u2018encounter\u2019 killings. It goes without saying that perpetrators of extrajudicial killings at the highest level must be punished under the law \u2013 and not protected \u2013 if this brutish trend is to be curtailed.<\/p>\n

\u2018HRCP welcomes the Senate Standing Committee on Interior\u2019s demand for a judicial probe into the incident, and hopes that this will be conducted transparently and its recommendations made public.\u2019<\/p>\n

Dr Mehdi Hasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chairperson<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>