Drug Suspects Bail Fears Keep Them in Jail
Drug suspects bail fears are keeping thousands of undertrials behind bars in Punjab. Some suspects facing drug-peddling charges are reluctant to seek bail because they fear violence by the Crime Control Department, known as the CCD, after their release, according to a report in The Express Tribune on Monday, November 2, 2026.
Their reluctance adds to prison overcrowding and raises questions about access to justice. The claims about CCD violence are allegations, and the CCD has responded that it arrests suspects only in registered cases. Both sides of that dispute are set out below.
Drug suspects bail fears: the scale of the problem
Punjab’s 45 prisons held 72,940 inmates, including around 53,000 undertrials, according to data available to The Express Tribune. Of those undertrials, 15,390 faced drug-peddling charges. That figure has risen steadily: it stood at 13,000 in 2024 and 14,300 in 2025. More than 200 of the inmates were women.
Adiala Jail had the highest number of undertrials at 6,390, followed by Lahore’s Camp Jail with 6,033 and Central Jail Gujranwala with 4,870. Other crowded facilities included Central Jail Faisalabad with 2,770, District Jail Sialkot with 2,480, District Jail Sheikhupura with 2,285, District Jail Faisalabad with 2,070, and District Jail Kasur with 1,970.
Drug-related cases accounted for more than 23 per cent of undertrials. Around 17,000 inmates were held for minor offences, while more than 2,200 awaited release in drug-use cases. Separately, 2,050 prisoners, including 140 women, had been convicted of drug peddling.
The drug-peddling caseload rose from 13,000 to 15,390 in two years, an increase of about 18 per cent. Combined with suspects choosing not to seek bail, that growth helps explain why the jails stay full.
Why some suspects stay inside
Former Punjab prisons chief Salahuddin Ahmed Khan Niazi said police and CCD personnel often wait outside jails with lists of inmates granted bail but wanted in other cases. Fearing immediate rearrest, he said, some suspects prefer to remain behind bars rather than seek release.
“The fear of the CCD keeps them from leaving prison,” Niazi said, adding that the possibility of immediate rearrest had become a factor in some suspects’ decisions to remain behind bars.
Abdullah Malik, a legal expert and head of a human rights organisation, said allegations of police encounters involving the CCD had prompted widespread concern. He said some suspects accused of drug peddling were reluctant to seek bail because they feared being subjected to what is commonly described as a “quarter encounter” or “half encounter”, terms used for alleged police violence resulting in serious injuries, including broken arms or legs.
Malik said incidents involving drug suspects who had secured bail and were subsequently allegedly subjected to such violence in different cities had reinforced these fears. “Therefore, some detainees view prison as a safer alternative to returning to the outside world,” he noted.
These are allegations and reported fears, not findings of a court. No specific incident is proved in the report.
What the authorities say
Frequently asked questions
What are drug suspects bail fears in Punjab?
Some drug suspects in Punjab jails are reluctant to seek bail because they fear rearrest or alleged violence by the Crime Control Department after release. Former prisons chief Salahuddin Ahmed Khan Niazi and rights advocates describe this fear as a factor keeping suspects behind bars.
How many drug suspects are in Punjab jails?
Punjab’s 45 prisons held 72,940 inmates, including around 53,000 undertrials. Of those, 15,390 faced drug-peddling charges, up from 13,000 in 2024 and 14,300 in 2025. More than 200 were women.
Which jails are the most crowded?
Adiala Jail had 6,390 undertrials, followed by Lahore’s Camp Jail with 6,033 and Central Jail Gujranwala with 4,870. Drug-related cases accounted for more than 23 per cent of undertrials across the province.
What does the CCD say?
A CCD spokesperson said police arrest suspects only in registered cases and can rearrest them if other cases are pending, despite bail. The spokesperson also claimed CCD measures had reduced crime in Punjab by 50 per cent, a claim not backed by figures in the report.
What do prison authorities blame for delays?
Inspector General of Prisons Mian Salik Jalal cited missed visits by judicial officers and the need to prioritise serious cases in court. Judicial officers of at least Additional Sessions Judge rank must visit prisons twice a month, and delays occur when visits do not happen.
