Menu
Close
Police brutality and torture are widespread and systematic in Pakistan. The violence takes many forms. Police beat victims, hang them by their arms or feet for hours on end, force them to witness the torture of others, and strip them naked and parade them in public, damaging their basic human dignity. This conduct amounts to torture. In Pakistan, there has been a lack of documentation that would allow for a rigorous assessment of the prevalence of torture by the police.
Police torture is endemic and systematic in Pakistan. Through its research and through representing victims of torture, the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) has observed that: torture is accepted as an inevitable part of law enforcement in Pakistan, and perpetrators of torture are granted impunity through a combination of socio-cultural acceptance, lack of independent oversight, widespread powers of arrest and detention, procedural loopholes and ineffective safeguards, including Pakistan’s failure to criminalize torture despite being a signatory of the UN Convention Against Torture.
Survivors’ Stories features interviews and first-hand narratives of victims of Pakistan’s state inflicted torture. Police Reform features expert legal analysis and interviews with state officials about the need and avenues for reform in policing practices. Resources features the relevant published research conducted by JPP. Finally, Media Watch and World News feature a collection of news stories concerning torture at home and abroad
This dataset examines police brutality and torture in Pakistan, focusing on Medico-Legal Certificates (MLCs) prepared by the Standing Medical Boards in response to allegations of police torture. It covers two districts in Punjab: Faisalabad (2006–2012), with data collected by Justice Project Pakistan, and Lahore (1998–2002), based on research by Chaudhry Muhammad Aslam. The dataset aims to address the lack of data on police torture despite its widespread occurrence.
For a Medico-Legal Certificate to be prepared, a torture allegation has to be made at a judicial forum, which results ni a majority of cases remaining unreported. Despite that hindrance, hundreds of complaints were made against the Punjab police in two major cities - Lahore and Faisalaba
The most vulnerable groups to police torture include the poor, daily wage workers, domestic workers, and farmers. The data highlights how socioeconomic status plays a major role in exposure to police brutality
Explore our findings on torture and its impacts.
Police brutality and torture are widespread in the Faisalabad District of Pakistan. Although most victims are men, the Faisalabad police have also tortured women. Male police officers have sexually assaulted women, ripped their clothes in public, and forced them to witness the torture of their family members. Taking advantage of women’s vulnerable position in society, police harassed female victims when their husbands were not home and brutally retaliated when the women protested the abuse.
Police brutality and torture are common features of policing in the Faisalabad District of Pakistan, and children are not exempt from this abuse. Evidence shows that Faisalabad police have arrested—often on the basis of false allegations—those as young as twelve and have used disproportionate force during arrests, engaged in extortion, and relied on torture as a principal means of interrogation. When children and their families complained about the abuse, they were met with silence or retaliation.
Torture by police and other law enforcement agencies is so endemic and systematic in Pakistan that it is largely a common practice. Torture is accepted as an inevitable part of law enforcement in Pakistan, and perpetrators of torture are granted impunity through a combination of socio-cultural acceptance, lack of independent oversight and investigation mechanisms, widespread powers of arrest and detention, procedural loopholes and ineffective safeguards, including Pakistan’s failure to criminalise torture.
Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) undertakes robust advocacy to challenge the normalization of torture in Pakistan’s criminal justice system. Through strategic litigation, public campaigns, and policy engagement, JPP works to expose the systemic use of torture by law enforcement agencies and push for legal reform, including the criminalization of torture under Pakistani law. By documenting cases, amplifying the voices of survivors, and engaging with international human rights bodies, JPP aims to hold perpetrators accountable and dismantle the structures that enable impunity. At the heart of its advocacy is a commitment to upholding human dignity and ensuring that justice in Pakistan is free from violence and coercion.
Join us in standing up against torture and abuse in Pakistan’s justice system. Advocate for accountability, legal reform, and the protection of basic human rights for those most vulnerable to violence and coercion.
