It can happen on any day. Police knock on your door at night. Or your brother calls from a police station and says he has been picked up. Nobody thinks about legal words in that moment. You just want to know what happens next.
This guide explains your rights when the police arrest you in Pakistan. More guides live on our blog, and you can start from the home page.
Where these rights come from
The law starts with the Constitution. Article 9 says no person can be deprived of life or liberty except according to law. Article 10 then lists what the police must do when they arrest someone. The Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, called the CrPC, fills in the details.
Can the police arrest you without a warrant?
Most people think every arrest needs a warrant. That is not true. Section 54 of the CrPC lets a police officer arrest without a warrant in many situations. The first and most common one: you have been concerned in a cognizable offence, or a reasonable complaint has been made against you, or credible information has been received, or the police reasonably suspect you.
Cognizable means the police may arrest without a warrant. Murder, robbery, theft and most serious offences are cognizable. A warrant is mainly needed for the smaller, non-cognizable cases. If you are unsure whether a report against you is real, read what an FIR is and why it matters.
You must be told why you are arrested
Article 10(1) of the Constitution says two things. First, you must be told the grounds of your arrest as soon as possible. Second, you have the right to consult and be defended by a lawyer of your choice. If the police do not tell you why you are being held, that is a breach of your constitutional right. You can ask. You should ask.
The 24 hour rule
Article 10(2) of the Constitution and section 61 of the CrPC set the same limit. After arrest, you must be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours. The travel time from the place of arrest to the court does not count. Section 60 says the police must take you there without unnecessary delay.
If the police want to keep you longer, they need a special order from a magistrate under section 167. Without that order, holding you past 24 hours is illegal. Section 167 also caps each remand order at fifteen days.
What the police can and cannot do during arrest
- Section 50. You cannot be put under more restraint than is needed to stop you escaping.
- Section 51. When you are arrested without a warrant, the police may search you and hold anything found, other than your clothing.
- Section 52. If a woman has to be searched, only another woman can do it, with strict regard to decency.
- Section 53. The police can take any weapon you have on you.
- Section 49. Police can break open a door only to free themselves or another person trapped inside while making an arrest.
Women and police custody
Section 167(5) of the CrPC gives a special protection to women. A magistrate cannot send a woman to police custody except in cases of qatl, which means murder, or dacoity, which means armed robbery. Even then, written reasons are required. In ordinary cases a woman in custody is questioned in the prison, in the presence of a jail officer and a female police officer.
Bail is a right for bailable offences
Bail is not a favour. For a bailable offence, section 496 of the CrPC makes it a right. If you are ready to give bail, the police or the court shall release you. For non-bailable offences, the court decides under section 497. It cannot grant bail when there are reasonable grounds to believe you committed an offence punishable with death, life imprisonment, or ten years. But a person under sixteen, a woman, or a sick or infirm person can still be released on bail even in serious cases. If you are not arrested yet but expect trouble, read how bail works in Pakistan, including pre-arrest bail.
If the case is weak, you can be released
Section 169 of the CrPC: if the investigation finds no sufficient evidence or reasonable ground of suspicion, the officer in charge must release you on a bond to appear later if required. Section 63 adds another rule. No person arrested by the police can be discharged except on his own bond, on bail, or under a special order of a magistrate.
What you say to the police is not evidence against you
Most people get this wrong. Under the Qanun-e-Shahadat 1984, Article 38 says a confession made to a police officer cannot be proved against an accused person. Article 39 extends it: a confession made while in police custody is not provable unless made in the immediate presence of a magistrate. Article 37 says a confession caused by inducement, threat or promise is irrelevant.
So do not believe the line that signing a statement will make things easier. It will not. And if the police hurt you to get a confession, that itself is a crime. Section 337-K of the Pakistan Penal Code punishes causing hurt to extort a confession with imprisonment up to ten years as ta'zir, on top of the punishment for the hurt itself.
What to do when someone you know is arrested
- Find out which police station and which FIR. If you can get the FIR number, every step becomes faster. How to check your FIR online in Pakistan explains the official ways.
- Get a criminal lawyer the same day. Timing matters in criminal law.
- Go to the magistrate's court where the accused will be produced. That usually happens within 24 hours. Be there.
- If days pass and you cannot find the person, tell the lawyer at once.
What if your rights are violated?
You have remedies. Article 199 of the Constitution lets you go to the High Court when a public authority acts against your rights. The officer who broke the law can also face prosecution. Section 166 of the Pakistan Penal Code punishes a public servant who knowingly disobeys the law, with up to one year in prison. Section 167 punishes framing an incorrect document with up to three years. And an investigating officer who does the job badly can face up to three years under section 166(2).
The short version
- You must be told why you were arrested.
- You have the right to a lawyer. Ask to inform your family too.
- You must be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours.
- What you say to the police is not evidence against you.
- Bail is a right for bailable offences. Being hurt to make you confess is a crime.
Arrest is frightening. The law gives you a floor of rights that nobody can take away.
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