EDITORIAL: The horrifying killing of a teenage boy in Multan, followed by the death of the principal accused in an alleged police encounter, has exposed two deeply disturbing failures of Pakistan’s criminal justice system within days of each other.
The circumstances surrounding the death of Waseem Abbas, who was reportedly chased and deliberately run over by a man employing him, demand the strongest possible condemnation.
Yet the subsequent death of the accused, Tauqeer Nazir, while supposedly having escaped police custody, raises questions every bit as serious about the state’s commitment to due process and the rule of law.
The available CCTV footage of the boy’s killing is deeply distressing. It shows a child desperately attempting to escape a pursuing vehicle before being struck and crushed against a gate.
According to the police complaint, Waseem had been working as an apprentice electrician and had reportedly suffered violence and threats at the hands of his employers. His circumstances also raise troubling questions about the responsibilities of the shelter where he had been placed, the conditions under which he was sent to work and the absence of effective safeguards for vulnerable children. Every institution and individual involved in these arrangements deserves scrutiny.
The reported assault on the accused by lawyers outside a courtroom added another disgraceful dimension to the case. Members of the legal profession, entrusted with defending the administration of justice, cannot arrogate to themselves the authority to punish suspects. Their conduct should be investigated and appropriate disciplinary action taken.
Public outrage over an exceptionally brutal crime is entirely understandable, but allowing violence to replace legal proceedings further undermines the institutions responsible for delivering justice.
The subsequent police encounter is particularly alarming. Tauqeer had been arrested and produced before a magistrate, who granted three days of physical remand. Within hours, he was reportedly dead in Bahawalpur following what the Crime Control Department described as an exchange of fire after his escape from custody. The circumstances require an independent investigation.
How did a suspect in such a high-profile murder case escape police custody? How did he reach Bahawalpur? What evidence supports the official account of the encounter? These questions demand answers supported by forensic evidence, custody records and a transparent reconstruction of events.
Punjab’s Crime Control Department has already attracted serious criticism over alleged extrajudicial killings and the frequency of reported police encounters. The latest incident will inevitably deepen public suspicion about the methods being employed in the name of combating crime. A police force that acquires a reputation for dispensing punishment outside the courts damages confidence in the entire justice system.
The danger extends beyond individual cases, because public acceptance of such practices weakens the principle that every allegation must be examined through lawful investigation and judicial proceedings.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has rightly demanded an independent and transparent investigation. The accused’s death has also deprived Waseem’s family of the opportunity to see the principal suspect tried in court and the circumstances of the crime fully established through evidence.
Questions concerning the second suspect, the boy’s employment and the failures that left him vulnerable remain unresolved. An alleged encounter cannot be permitted to bring the wider investigation to an end.
The provincial government must ensure that both deaths receive the scrutiny they warrant. The investigation into Waseem’s killing must continue, while the circumstances of Tauqeer’s death should be examined independently of the department involved. Any unlawful conduct by police personnel must attract criminal accountability.
Equally, the protection of vulnerable children and enforcement of workplace safeguards require urgent attention.
The brutality inflicted upon Waseem demands justice of the highest order. The state’s obligation to deliver that justice through the law remains absolute, however grave the alleged offence.
Two deaths in the same case have now left Pakistan with a profoundly troubling question: how much faith can citizens retain in institutions that repeatedly fail to protect life and uphold the law?
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026