Police Accountability and the Protection of Fundamental Rights in Pakistan

Abstract

Police accountability is necessary for lawful law enforcement, public confidence and the protection of fundamental rights. This article discusses the legal and institutional framework in Pakistan for dealing with unlawful arrest, custodial abuse, misuse of investigative powers and failures in police supervision. It employs a doctrinal and socio-legal approach to study the constitutional guarantees provided under Articles 4, 9, 10, 10A and 14, the arrest, remand and investigation provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, the evidentiary safeguards of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984, the Police Order 2002 and provincial police laws, and the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act, 2022, and leading Supreme Court and High Court decisions. It then assesses departmental discipline, criminal prosecution, judicial remedies, complaint mechanisms and oversight institutions against five criteria: independence, accessibility, transparency, protection of complainants and effectiveness of remedies. The study concludes that the legal safeguards are largely sufficient in theory but that in reality accountability is fragmentary, largely controlled by the police themselves, compromised by political interference and almost wholly opaque. It also acknowledges the significant operational pressures faced by police officers. It looks to comparative experience in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, India and South Africa. It proposes: independent investigation of serious allegations; mandatory digital custody records and audit trails; accessible complaint procedures, with protection against retaliation; and periodic public reporting against accountability indicators.