HANDBOOK OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IN PAKISTAN National Police Bureau Ministry of Interior Government of Pakistan Director General’s Message Criminal Investigation is the be-all and end-all of policing as far as the role of police department as a part of Criminal Justice System is concerned. After the registration of First Information Report by the police, the Criminal Justice System comes into play. Most important part of the system is the process of police investigation, which mostly determines the outcome of the case in the courts in providing justice to the victims of crime, their families and the offenders too. Majority of criminal cases fail in courts because of defective investigation as the courts have repeatedly commented on the poor quality of investigation as responsible for failure of Criminal Justice System as a whole. In his order dated 12.05.2020 in Criminal Petition No. 419 of 2020 (Saddam Hussain vs The State) his lordship the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan, issued a direction to the Inspector General of Police, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) to compile a Handbook of Investigation for the guidance of the Investigation Officers (IO). In a meeting of Police Reforms Committee at National Police Bureau, Secretary Law and Justice Commission also conveyed that the Hon’ble Chief Justice desired that proper check-lists of investigation process and also a brief on the ingredients of offences may be added in the Handbook, to properly guide the IOs. Although the original direction was issued to the IG (ICT), National Police Bureau volunteered to compile the Handbook as it was an issue concerning all the police/law enforcement agencies in the county, for which the Bureau is a coordinating agency. Therefore, this Handbook is a product of the effort of all the police departments concerned with investigation. The NPB is thankful to all the contributors of this exercise at national levels and especially, the organizations who provided academic and financial support for its publication for wider circulation to the end-users i.e. Investigation Officers. After performing this tremendous job, the NPB is working on a system of accreditation of Investigation Officers and also translation of the Handbook in Urdu. Dr. Syed Ejaz Hussain PSP, PhD, Director General, National Police Bureau Chairman, Working Group on the Handbook of Criminal Investigation in Pakistan Foreword In compliance of the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan, National Police Bureau (NPB) voluntarily took up the task of compiling a national handbook of criminal investigation in collaboration with all the federal and provincial criminal investigation agencies of Pakistan. The purpose of this endeavour was to document national standards of investigation by introducing a national reference book on criminal investigation, which may be used by the criminal investigation agencies across the country to ensure uniformity in the quality of procedures and standards of criminal investigation. In the process of research, NPB collected and perused all the available investigation booklets and manuals prepared by the local criminal investigation agencies and training institutes. It was observed that different investigation agencies have developed different investigation manuals according to their needs and capabilities. A comprehensive reference book on the subject comprising of the latest case law and modern investigation techniques could not be found. It was decided to avoid duplication of efforts by having a common platform comprising of experts from all the criminal investigation agencies of the country and the legal fraternity to produce a national handbook of criminal investigation which could be treated by investigation officers across the country as a reference book to seek guidance in matters of criminal investigation. Therefore, a national working group under the umbrella of NPB, comprising of experts from all provincial police organizations, FIA, NACTA, NAB, Advocate General Islamabad, ANF and prominent legal experts was created to carry out the task. The working group conducted several meetings and workshops to reach a consensus on the contents, style and sequence of the handbook. Different chapters were assigned to different organizations according to their expertise and capacity while NPB took up the tasks of overall coordination, editing and compilation. The drafts prepared by different organizations were reviewed by professional investigators and legal experts. After detailed deliberations and consultations, the working group has produced this handbook which will be published online and on paper in both Urdu and English languages. Moreover, a smartphone app and an e-portal will also be developed in due course of time to incorporate the contents of the Handbook in a ready reference form. As directed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, this handbook will be revised on yearly basis to incorporate new case law and latest developments in the methods and tools of criminal investigation. This book is a result of the concerted efforts of all the criminal investigation agencies of Pakistan and prominent legal experts. NPB is grateful to the members of the working group and their respective organizations for their support, hard work and team play. A good investigation is by the book. We hope that this book will find its due place in the hearts, hands and minds of the investigators of today and tomorrow. Saqib Sultan Al Mehmood PPM, PSP Director, National Police Bureau Coordinator, Working Group on the Handbook of Criminal Investigation in Pakistan WORKING GROUP ON THE HANDBOOK OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IN PAKISTAN S# Organization Name Designation 1 Dr. Syed Ejaz Hussain PSP, PhD IGP/DG, NPB (Chairman of the Working Group) 2 Mr. Saqib Sultan Al Mehmood PPM, PSP DIG/Director National Police Bureau (Coordinator of the Working Group) 3 Mr. Azhar Rasheed Khan DIG/Director 4 Mr. Gulfam Nasir DD/P 5 Mr. Nasir Muneef DD(P)/GCC 6 Mr. Khalid Saeed DSP/CLI Punjab 7 Mr. Abdul Rauf DSP/CLI 8 Mr. Sharjil Kharal DIG 9 Sindh Mr. Shamyl Riaz SP 10 Mr. Abdullah Memon SP 11 Mr. Arif Shahbaz AIG KP 12 Mr. Munir Hussain Director 13 Mr. Abdul Hayee AIG Balochistan 14 Mr. NaushadYounas AIG 15 Mr. IrfanSaleem SSP AJK 16 Mr. Asif Mughal DSP 17 Mr. Farman Ali DIG 18 GB Mr. Hafeez-ur-Rehman AIG 19 Mr. Abdullah Khan AIG 20 Mr. Kamran Aadil SSP ICT 21 Muhammad Haroon Joya AIG 22 Syed Fareed Ali Director FIA 23 Mr. Iftikhar Ahmed AD 24 Mr. Jawad Ahmed Khan DSP Railways Police 25 Mr. Abdul Jabbar IT Officer 26 Muhammad Ali Babakhel DG NACTA 27 Mr. Ghulam Mujtaba DD 28 Mr. Sahib Khan DD 29 ANF Mr. Munazam Iqbal Gondal DD 30 Mr. Niaz Ullah Niazi Advocate General Islamabad Advocate General Office 31 Mr. Rabi Bin Tariq Advocate Islamabad 32 Mirza Sultan M. Saleem DG T&R NAB 33 Syed Jalal Hussain SP/TC Pros 34 Mr. Ahmer Bilal Soofi Advocate/President, Research Society of International Law 35 Mr. Muhammad Oves Anwar Advocate/Director, Research Society of International law 36 Mr. Qausain Faisal Mufti Advocate Legal Experts 37 Ms. Eeman Sajid Advocate 38 Mr. Jawad Hussain Aadil Advocate 39 Mr. Sheikh Aurengzeb Advocate 40 Mr. Umar Gillani Advocate Acknowledgment The National Police Bureau extends its special thanks to the Centre for Criminal Justice Reform and Capacity Building (C3) at the Research Society of International Law (RSIL) for its invaluable support in the research, compilation, and drafting of this Handbook on Criminal Investigation. We would like to acknowledge the efforts of the C3 Team at RSIL including: Team Lead: Mr. Muhammad Oves Anwar Director – Research, RSIL Research Team: Ms. Hira Arif Riar, Mr. Shayan Ahmed Khan, Mr. Abraze Aqil, Senior Research Fellow, RSIL Senior Research Associate, Research Associate, RSIL RSIL Mr. Aimal Amjad Qureshi, Mr. Saad Hasan, Mr. Azeem Armaghan Research Associate, RSIL Advocate/Criminal Justice Advocate/Criminal Justice Expert Expert TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION PROCESS IN PAKISTAN .............................................. 2 1. START OF AN INVESTIGATION ................................................................................................................ 3 2. INVESTIGATION AT THE CRIME SCENE ................................................................................................... 4 3. SEARCHES AND RECOVERIES .................................................................................................................. 4 4. ARREST AND RELEASE OF SUSPECTS ...................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2: THE START OF AN INVESTIGATION .................................................................................................... 6 1. HOW DOES AN INVESTIGATION START? ................................................................................................. 7 2. OVERVIEW OF THE START OF AN INVESTIGATION .................................................................................. 7 3. NON-COGNIZABLE CASES ..................................................................................................................... 10 4. COGNIZABLE CASES ............................................................................................................................. 10 5. THE FIR REGISTRATION PROCESS: .......................................................................................................