Extra judicial Killings and Institutional Failure in Pakistan: A Criminological Analysis of Police Violence, State Power and Criminal Justice Accountability

Abstract

This study aims to critically examine alleged extrajudicial killings in Pakistan as a potential manifestation of institutional failure within the criminal justice and state administrative systems. It specifically explores how excessive police discretion, weak investigation, inadequate forensic practices, ineffective prosecution, limited judicial oversight and institutional impunity contribute to unlawful state violence. It also examines the policing terms “Half Fry” and “Full Fry” as socio-cultural expressions associated with alleged coercive practices rather than legal concepts. This study used a qualitative documentary research design based on secondary data. Academic literature, constitutional and legal provisions, human-rights reports, United Nations materials and documented cases concerning police encounters and custodial violence are critically reviewed. The analysis is theoretically informed by State Crime Theory, police-deviance perspectives, Procedural Justice Theory and Institutional Anomie Theory. The findings indicate that alleged extrajudicial killings cannot adequately be understood as isolated acts of individual police misconduct. They reflect broader institutional weaknesses involving accountability mechanisms, investigation, forensic examination, prosecution and judicial oversight. HRCP reports at least 670 CCD-led encounters in Punjab during 2025, involving 924 reported deaths and recommends a high-level judicial inquiry (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, 2026). These figures do not establish that all deaths constitute extrajudicial killings but highlight the need for independent investigation. The analysis demonstrates that alleged extrajudicial killings undermine public confidence, procedural legitimacy and the rule of law. The study therefore emphasizes independent investigations, forensic integrity, prosecutorial accountability, judicial oversight, transparency, victim and witness protection and effective implementation of existing legislation as essential measures for strengthening institutional accountability and preventing unlawful state violence.