ISLAMABAD: In contrast to the preceding year, the number of police encounters witnessed a significant decline in 2024, but the number of people killed in these incidents, criticised by rights activists as extra-judicial methods, increased disproportionately.

In2023,63 encountersledto the killing of 12 suspects whereas in the previous year, 14 people lost their lives inmerely 39 such episodes as over 10,000 violent and nonviolent crimes were reported to the capitalpolice.

Police officials told Dawn that 14 suspects were killed and about 23 were incapacitated in 39 encounters, adding that a policeman was also martyred and four officials sustained injuries. In 2023, 10 policemen were injured and one official of the Punjab police was martyred.

Similarities were found in the content of FIRs (first information reports) registered in connection with these encounters, officials said, adding that accordingtothe content ofthe FIRs, the suspects were either killed or injured due to the firing of their accomplices.

Out of 39 incidents, 29 encounters that occurred were face-offs. For instance, theyoccurred during patrolling and at the pickets.

Six encounters took place as police were conducting raids to arrest suspects while in three incidents, the police officials were attacked.

In one encounter, the culprits managed to whisk away a handcuffed suspect from police custody. Out of the total 39 encounters,11took placein the limits of the Saddar Zone police, followed by nine in the Industrial Area Zone, eight in the Rural Zone, six in the Soan Zone, and five in the City Zone.

In one ofthe encountersthat took place on January 11, 2024, a suspect, involved in the killing of a policeman and his son, was killed in Sector G-14 purportedly by the firing of his accomplices when a sixmember team of the policewere on their way to recover the murder weapon.

It may be noted that thenpolice chief Akbar Nasir had publicly announced that the killing of the policeman and his son would be avenged.

On January 7, one suspect was killed in the jurisdiction of the Karachi Company police. On April 9, a suspect was killed in the Kirpa area of the capital during a raid by the police to arrest the proclaimed offender.

Two suspects were killed during an encounter with the police on May 3 near Bhara Kahu.

On June 23, three people were killed who were allegedly a part of a car-lifting gang in the jurisdiction of the Secretariat police while four managed to escape. One suspect was also injured in theencounter. On September 7, two suspects were killed near a graveyard in Park Enclave due to the firing of their accomplices. The FIR had said that the police team, which had brought along the suspects to arrest their accomplices, remained safe, but a tire of their vehicle burst. On Sep 13, an under-custody suspect was killed in an encounter. The police took the suspect to Japan Road in Kirpa for recovery when four riders on two motorcycles started firing shortly after the suspect was taken out of the vehicle.

The police officials remained unhurt, but the suspect was seriously injured and later succumbed to injuries.

Likewise, one suspect was killed in November in the jurisdiction of the Sumbal police.