Directs Okara DPO to register FIR against concerned officials and submit compliance report within 15 days
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday ordered the registration of a criminal case against Crime Control Department (CCD) officials for the alleged illegal detention of a citizen, ruling that video evidence contradicted the department’s account of the incident.
Justice Amjad Rafiq issued the written order while hearing a petition filed by Maqsooda Bibi, directing the Okara District Police Officer (DPO) to register a first information report (FIR) against the officials concerned and submit a compliance report within 15 days.
According to the written order, the petitioner claims that Gulfam Ali was released from prison on June 27 but was immediately taken into custody outside the prison by individuals dressed in civilian clothes.
Read: Fatal CCD shooting case gets worse
During the proceedings, the court examined the CCTV footage of the incident presented by the Superintendent of Lahore District Jail and other evidence available on record.
Lahore Defense CCD Inspector/Incharge Akhtar Ali told the judge that Gulfam was arrested in connection with a criminal case registered in Okara on July 2. However, Justice Rafiq observed that the CCD’s version was contradicted by the video evidence presented in court.
The judge ruled that submitting an incorrect report to the court and continuing to illegally detain a citizen constituted cognizable offenses warranting criminal prosecution.
The court then ordered the Okara DPO to register an FIR against the officials concerned and submit a report after complying with the order.
On June 18, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), in an article on X, had warned the Punjab government against increasing extrajudicial killings carried out by the CCD in Punjab.
The organization noted that the CCD has “systematically” adopted the use of lethal force as a tactic to control crime.
HRCP notes with concern that extrajudicial killings have continued in Punjab, despite the organization warning the Punjab government in a previous report that @CCD_Punjab appears to be systematically adopting the use of lethal force as a tactic to “control” crime. Since…
– Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) June 18, 2026
“Since the establishment of the CCD in April 2025, the HRCP has documented 808 ‘encounters’ with police in which at least 1,100 suspects were killed,” the post said, adding: “The fact that this normalization of lethal force outside of due process has directly resulted in the death of a nine-year-old child should be a wake-up call to the Punjab government.”
The HRCP lamented that although the CCD recognized the incident as a “violation” of ministerial rules, it could not be treated as an isolated operational failure, nor could internal accountability be a substitute for independent oversight.
