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EVEN the best laws on the books are worth little unless the state shows the willingness to enforce them. This is certainly true for the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act, 2022. As the HRCP pointed out during a recent consultation in Islamabad, torture and cruel and inhuman treatment remain widespread in Pakistan, despite the existence of this law. Perhaps the main reason for this is the thana culture that, despite multiple attempts at reform, continues to influence law enforcement in the country. This culture is a holdover from the colonial age during which LEAs were not supposed to serve and protect citizens, but to dominate them and put them in their place when they stepped out of line. The result is the continuation of a system where torture is endemic and rights are trampled on. Studies show that most confessions are extracted under torture. However, these brutish methods have failed to bring down crime numbers, as the rampant lawlessness across the country shows. The FIA told the Lahore High Court earlier this year that up till April 30, it had registered at least 364 inquiries under the anti-torture law. The vast majority of cases were reported from Punjab.
