The Superior Court of Lahore (LHC) ordered Wednesday to the Punjab Police Inspector, Dr. Usman Anwar, to explain why, in the Terrorism Department (CTD) “Encounters”, only the defendants are beaten by bullets while the police vans and their inmates remain illegal.
The CTD has faced repeated accusations of “false encounters”, in which suspects die in suspicious circumstances.
The president of the Supreme Court, Aalia Neelum, issued the summons when he listened to Farhat Bibi’s request claiming that his son, Ghazanfar Asm, was killed in a “False Police meeting” on April 22. The petitioner sought protection for his other son, Ansar Aslam, who is detained in Sheikhupura Jail. His lawyer told the court that both Ghazar and Ansar were arrested by the Sharaqpur police.
According to the CTD report, the officers took the suspect truck due to a punctured tire. The report states that, when the team approached to investigate, the occupants of the truck attacked the officers, who then opened fire, hitting only the suspects.
Judge Neelum challenged this narrative, observing that “how do bullets only find the detainees, leaving the officers and their vehicles intact?” He pointed out that the court receives more than 40 daily requests claiming murders for staging custody.
The CTD has faced repeated accusations of “false encounters”, in which suspects die in suspicious circumstances. The petitioners demand a pattern of deaths from custody and seek judicial supervision to safeguard the rights of detainees.
Although he expressed his indefinite satisfaction with the written report, the president of the Supreme Court ordered IGP Anwar to carry out an exhaustive review of the recent CTD operations and propose measures to avoid future abuses.
