Two killed, six injured in eight alleged police encounters in Faisalabad

TOBA TEK SINGH: Two men were killed and six others injured in eight separate alleged police encounters in Faisalabad within 24 hours, according to police accounts detailed in a report published by Dawn.

All eight incidents followed a similar pattern in the version presented by police, with suspects either killed or wounded after police claimed they were hit by gunfire from their own fleeing accomplices. Human rights groups have repeatedly voiced concern over extrajudicial killings by police and the Crime Control Department in Punjab.

Eight incidents reported in a day

In the first case, Thikriwala police said a suspect in the killing of his brother and sister-in-law over a property dispute was taken to recover the weapon used in the crime from his house in Chak 272/JB. According to the police spokesperson, when the police van reached near the M-4 bridge at Chak 71/JB Sirli, six accomplices on three motorcycles attacked the vehicle, opened fire and freed the suspect, identified as Abid Yousaf Jat. Police said reinforcements from Thikriwala and Painsara arrived, another exchange of fire followed, and Abid was later found injured. He was taken to Allied Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Police maintained he was struck by shots fired by his accomplices. It further stated that Abid had initially told police his brother had killed his wife and then himself, but during interrogation confessed to killing both of them to seize their share of inherited property.

In the second incident, Nishatabad police said they stopped three men riding a motorcycle at a picket on Sargodha Road. Police alleged the suspects opened fire, prompting return fire in self-defence. After the shooting stopped, one suspect was found injured and was identified as Muhammad Umair Umairi of Chak 8/JB, who police said was wanted in a murder case. He was shifted to Allied Hospital.

In the Dijkot police area, police said they chased four men accused of robbing citizens. According to the police version, an exchange of fire took place and one suspect, identified as Liaqat Ali Bakhtu, was found injured and taken to Allied Hospital, while the other three escaped.

In the fourth incident, Batala Colony police reported that SHO Zaheer Ahmed Gill and other officers raided Siddiquia Graveyard to arrest suspected drug traffickers. Police said the suspects opened fire and, after an exchange, one suspect was detained in an injured condition while others fled. The suspect, identified as Azeem of Chamanzar Colony, was taken to hospital but died of his injuries. Police said he was involved in 36 robbery cases and also claimed to have recovered 800 grams of ice from him.

People’s Colony police, in the fifth case, said SHO Mian Wajid Hussain was leading a picket near Rafhan Corn Mills when two motorcyclists were signalled to stop. Police alleged they opened fire, after which one suspect was found injured and arrested while the second escaped. The injured man was identified as Sajid of Chak 112/GB, whom police said was wanted in two dozen robberies. He was taken to Allied Hospital.

In the sixth incident, Chak Jhumra police said SHO Rizwan Shaukat Bhatti was heading a police party at a picket when three men on a motorcycle encountered the police and opened fire. Police said one suspect, identified as Hasnain Karamat, was later found with multiple bullet wounds and shifted to Chak Jhumra THQ Hospital, while the other two escaped. Police alleged he had been involved in several robbery and drug smuggling cases.

The seventh encounter was reported near Razaabad Graveyard, where Razaabad police said a suspect identified as Tanweer Hussain was injured by gunfire allegedly fired by fleeing accomplices. According to police, he was wanted in a dozen drug cases.

In the eighth case, Roshanwala police said they chased two suspected robbers after citizens were robbed. Police said an exchange of fire followed, after which one suspect, Mehran Amjad, was arrested in an injured condition and shifted to Allied Hospital, while the other suspect escaped. Police claimed he was wanted in several robbery cases and said a snatched motorcycle was recovered from him.

Human rights concerns

Rights organisations have consistently objected to extrajudicial killings by police and the CCD in Punjab. It cited a fact-finding report issued by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in February this year, which documented at least 670 CCD-led encounters across Punjab over eight months in 2025. According to the commission, those operations resulted in the deaths of 924 suspects, while two police officials were killed during the same period.

The HRCP had called for a high-level judicial inquiry into deaths resulting from police and CCD operations, alleging that the CCD had adopted a "deliberate policy of staged police encounters leading to extrajudicial killings".