Two deaths, one failure of justice

Business Recorder · 23/10/2026، 12:47:19 AM

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 physi