LHC declares probing claims of police torture is FIA’s responsibility   

What could be described as a big decision on police torture, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday ruled that it was the responsibility of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate the allegations of torture, rape and murder in police custody, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

In a 19-page verdict on the petition filed by Zubaida Qureshi against custodial torture, Justice Tariq Salim Sheikh wrote that Pakistan had signed the United Nations (UN) convention on torture and inhuman treatment in 2010. “And it was because of that that a bill against custodial torture was passed in Pakistan in 2022,” the judge said, adding in the same year the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) was assigned the task to ensure that there was no partiality in the application of the law.

The judge wrote that under the Act, the FIA was authorized to conduct an investigation into reports of torture during detention even if informed verbally.  

Furthermore, Justice Sheikh said that the killing, torture and rape of a suspect under the nose of the police would also be deemed to be the consequence of torture by the Force, and for that, the victim need not be in the police’s custody.

Therefore, the judge wrote, the Agency should make rules to probe such allegations.

He further said that the FIA could not refuse to conduct an investigation merely because the concerned police official had denied charges of custodial torture, adding that the suspect always denied charges against him but it was the duty of the investigators to probe and get to the truth.   

Zubaida, in her petition, had accused the police of killing his son and other family members, who were in their custody in connection with a case of kidnapping, in a fake encounter.   

A sessions court had rejected the petition on January 17 on the grounds that it had been filed late.

Reporter: Malik Ashraf