ABSTRACT
The criminal justice system in Pakistan is based on codified laws that outline provisions and guidelines for each criminal offence or act. The Pakistan Penal Code (Pakistan, 1860) serves as a legislative framework and a guide for all punishments relating to criminal offences. Most of Pakistan’s laws are derived from the Indian Penal Code and Anglo-Saxon law. These legal foundations stem from Indian laws established under the authority of the British government during colonial rule, when the Indian subcontinent was known as British India, which lasted from the mid-18th century until 1947. Following the end of British colonial rule in 1947, the partition of British India created Pakistan and India as two sovereign states. As a result, many of Pakistan’s laws and legal practices remain rooted in the legal structures introduced under British rule.
