Summary
- Adviser to PM says Crime Control Department targets proclaimed offenders involved in dacoity-cum-rape and murder who refuse to surrender to law Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah has strongly defended Punjab’s Crime Control Department (CCD) in the face of mounting allegations that over 900 people have been killed in extrajudicial police encounters.
- The defence came in response to a direct question from a journalist who asked: “According to reports, more than 900 people have been extrajudicially killed at the hands of CCD in Punjab – will they be held accountable?” Responding at a press conference in Lahore, Sanaullah dismissed the criticism as “propaganda” and urged journalists to conduct a public survey in Punjab to gauge the department’s performance.
- But those who have been killed in CCD encounters are such proclaimed offenders who do not submit to the law, who do not appear before courts, and who commit dacoity with rape, dacoity with murder.
Adviser to PM says Crime Control Department targets proclaimed offenders involved in dacoity-cum-rape and murder who refuse to surrender to law
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah has strongly defended Punjab’s Crime Control Department (CCD) in the face of mounting allegations that over 900 people have been killed in extrajudicial police encounters.
The defence came in response to a direct question from a journalist who asked: “According to reports, more than 900 people have been extrajudicially killed at the hands of CCD in Punjab – will they be held accountable?”
Responding at a press conference in Lahore, Sanaullah dismissed the criticism as “propaganda” and urged journalists to conduct a public survey in Punjab to gauge the department’s performance.
RANA SANAULLAH’S FULL RESPONSE:
> “As a journalist, go and conduct a public survey in Punjab regarding CCD. I don’t know whether it’s 900, 700 or 200. But those who have been killed in CCD encounters are such proclaimed offenders who do not submit to the law, who do not appear before courts, and who commit dacoity with rape, dacoity with murder.
>
> If police goes after such cancers (nasoor) of society and they are killed in an encounter and such cancers are sent to hell, we should not have so much sympathy.
>
> Yes, if among these 900, you know of even a single person who was innocent and was harmed on some other basis, then name him. Therefore, this propaganda is not appropriate.”
The adviser maintained that the operation has significantly improved the law and order situation in Punjab.
BACKGROUND:
The CCD was established in April 2025 under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s “Safe Punjab” initiative to combat organized crime.
According to a fact-finding report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) released in February 2026, at least 924 suspects were killed in 670 CCD-led encounters between April and December 2025, while only two policemen died. HRCP termed the pattern a “systemic policy of extrajudicial killing.”
The journalist who questioned Sanaullah later cited the case of a lawyer from Vehari as an example demanding scrutiny.
Punjab Police maintains that the encounters involve hardened criminals with extensive criminal records who open fire on raiding teams.
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