Several civil society activists, lawyers, and journalists in Pakistan are urging the withdrawal of Punjab’s ‘Habitual Offenders’ bill, labeling it as regressive. They warn that if passed, the law could significantly impact human rights protections in the country. Human rights lawyer Asad Jamal, speaking at a round table organized by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), highlighted that the bill’s main aim is to allow the state to ignore civil liberties by using vague terms like “habitual offender” and “anti-social behavior.”
Academic Adnan Sattar criticized the bill for pushing “repressive legality” to an extreme level. He called on civil society to take a more practical approach in opposing such laws. Additionally, Raja Ashraf, the vice-chair of HRCP Punjab, noted a decline in the space for debate within Pakistan’s legislative bodies.
Pakistani lawyer Ali Javed Darugar argued that the bill represents an advancement of colonial laws. He emphasized that devolution and state accountability are crucial to breaking free from what he described as a destructive cycle. Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Sheikh Imtiaz pointed out that the bill violates at least 14 articles of the Pakistani Constitution, including the right to a fair trial and freedom of movement. He also alleged that lawmakers often lack access to bill contents before discussions.
Last month, HRCP expressed serious concerns about ongoing extrajudicial killings in Punjab, where 808 police ‘encounters’ have reportedly led to the deaths of 1,100 suspects. The organization previously warned the Punjab government about the Crime Control Department (CCD) Punjab’s apparent routine use of lethal force to “control” crime. The rights body condemned the killing of a nine-year-old child, viewing it as part of a broader normalization of extrajudicial killings.
Calling for an immediate judicial inquiry into the incident, HRCP emphasized the need for the Punjab government to address the issue. While the CCD acknowledged the incident as a ‘violation’ of departmental rules, HRCP stressed that this event should not be seen as an isolated operational failure and that internal accountability cannot replace independent oversight.
