HRCP shocked over Sahiwal killings.

ISLAMABAD -- Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that it was 'horrified' over the recent incident in which 4 individuals were killed by an elite force of Punjab police in a 'counter-terrorism' operation.

In a statement, HRCP said that it appeared that what was initially termed an encounter with terrorists was the unnecessary, violent deaths of 4 people, including two parents and their teenage daughter.

'This incident is deeply troubling at several levels. The first is the alleged absence of any sign of due process. There is no question that violence perpetrated by terrorist organisations must be eliminated. However, 'encounter killings' that rapidly resurface as 'extrajudicial murders' - once more and more facts emerge and are verified - simply cannot continue to be argued as a necessary evil to uphold the rule of law', the statement added.

'Second, this incident should initially have been brushed off as 'collateral damage' is a dire sign of how high our tolerance for impunity - as a state and society - has risen.

Third, the rate at which accounts of the incident have changed and the contradictions therein point to a distorted mechanism that betrays little coordination between the various branches of the state concerned. This needs to be rectified swiftly', it said.

'The HRCP reiterates the need...