Laws look great on paper. Real life is messier.
Back in 2022, Pakistan passed a landmark piece of legislation. The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act was supposed to end the dark era of police brutality behind closed doors. It promised up to fourteen years in prison for rogue officers. It vowed to protect citizens.
It hasn't worked.
Recent reports from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan expose a grim reality. The law exists. The enforcement? Practically zero. Police stations still operate with impunity. Custodial torture remains a terrifying routine rather than an isolated glitch.
You need to understand why this gap between legislation and reality keeps growing.
The Paper Tiger Problem
Passing a bill doesn't change a culture. That's the hard truth nobody wants to admit in Islamabad. When parliament greenlit the anti-torture act, activists cheered. They thought the nightmare was over.
They were wrong.
Police forces across the country operate under archaic systems. Investigative methods rely heavily on forced confessions rather than forensic evidence. Cops don't know how to build a case without beating it out of someone.
Nobody trained them. Nobody provided the budget for modern forensics.
So what happens? The old habits win. Officers treat the new law like a bureaucratic inconvenience rather than a binding moral and legal constraint.
Why Victims Stay Silent
If the law is there, why doesn't anyone use it?
Fear. Pure and simple.
Imagine walking into a police station to file a complaint against the very men who hold a monopoly on local violence. It's suicide. Victims face immense pressure from local power brokers, corrupt officials, and the police hierarchy itself.
- Intimidation: Families are threatened with fabricated drug charges.
- Financial ruin: Legal battles cost money ordinary citizens don't have.
- Institutional betrayal: Prosecutors often drag their feet or refuse to touch cases involving law enforcement.
The system is rigged. If you speak up, you paint a target on your back.
The Accountability Vacuum
Who watches the watchers? In Pakistan, the answer is nobody with actual teeth.
Internal inquiries are a joke. When a prisoner dies in custody or turns up with broken limbs, the standard police response is predictable. They call it a suicide. They claim the suspect fell down the stairs. They protect their own.
Independent oversight bodies lack the resources and political backing to challenge powerful security networks. Prosecutors hesitate to charge police officers because they have to work with those same officers every single day.
It is a closed loop of protection.
What Actually Needs to Happen
Writing another policy brief won't save anyone. Fixing this mess requires radical, uncomfortable action.
First, independent bodies must gain unrestricted access to every holding cell and interrogation room without prior notice. Transparency destroys abuse.
Second, the state needs to fund forensic science training immediately. Cops must learn to gather DNA and digital footprints instead of reaching for batons.
Third, judges need to start throwing out confessions obtained during the first forty-eight hours of detention. If courts stop accepting tainted evidence, police will stop producing it.
Change won't happen overnight. It starts by acknowledging that a law without enforcement is just a cruel joke played on the vulnerable.
Hold the system accountable. Demand better than silence.
