Criminal Laws

A 1996 law that abolishes whipping as a punishment under ordinary laws in Pakistan, except where it is imposed as a hadd punishment, and repeals the earlier Whipping Act, 1909.

A 1962 ordinance banning unqualified people from calling themselves "doctor," using unrecognised medical degrees, performing surgery, or prescribing dangerous drugs, with penalties of up to one year's imprisonment or a Rs 2,000 fine.

Establishes Pakistan's Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), merging the former Narcotics Control Board and Task Force, and gives ANF officers police-style powers to investigate, arrest, and prosecute narcotics offences and to trace and freeze drug-linked assets, plus its own internal disciplinary system.

The Arms Act, 1878 is a very old law regulating manufacture, import/export and licensing of arms and ammunition; much of its original text (including the possession offences in Chapter IV) has since been repealed or omitted, so current arms licensing rules should be checked against up-to-date sources.

The Cattle-trespass Act, 1871 sets up the pound system for impounding cattle that stray onto and damage land, crops, or roads, with fines, an auction process for unclaimed animals, and penalties for forcibly rescuing impounded cattle, though its stated rupee figures are over a century old.

This Ordinance implements Pakistan's obligations under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, banning the development, production or use of chemical weapons (up to 25 years' imprisonment) and regulating certain toxic chemicals, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the National Authority overseeing compliance and inspections.

Gives naval and port authorities emergency powers to manage fire and explosion risks from dangerous cargoes like explosives and low-flashpoint petroleum at Pakistan's ports, including ordering unsafe vessels scuttled or beached, with penalties for violating safety orders.

The Drugs Act, 1976 requires drugs sold in Pakistan to be registered and properly labelled, bans adulterated, misbranded, or counterfeit drugs, and creates Inspectors, Government Analysts, and special Drug Courts to enforce compliance.

The original 1910 law governing licensing of electricity suppliers, their duty to supply energy fairly, technical and safety rules for power infrastructure, and criminal offences for electricity theft and meter tampering (Sections 39-47).

A 1965 emergency-powers ordinance letting the Federal Government regulate or restrict electricity production, distribution, and use nationwide when needed to maintain essential services, with penalties for non-compliance.

Sets detailed procedural and medical safeguards for how a court-ordered whipping sentence must be carried out under other laws — including whip specifications, mandatory medical checks, and postponement for illness, pregnancy or extreme weather — rather than creating the punishment itself.

A 1981 ordinance letting the Federal Government bar any person or group from leaving Pakistan, without needing to give reasons or a prior hearing, with violations of an exit-ban order punishable by up to five years' imprisonment.

The Explosives Act, 1884 regulates the licensing, manufacture, possession, transport and sale of explosives in Pakistan, distinguishing (after amendment) between minor procedural violations and major, security-related violations, and requires accident reporting and safe air transport of explosives.

A 1972 Act governing how Pakistan extradites fugitive offenders to and from other countries, setting out the grounds on which surrender must be refused (such as political offences or risk of persecution) and the magisterial inquiry and government-decision process involved.

Establishes Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and defines its powers, replacing the old Special Police Establishment, with its investigative jurisdiction set mainly through a continuously updated Schedule of offences.

A 1973 law prescribing death or life imprisonment for high treason or unconstitutional abrogation/subversion of Pakistan's Constitution, with prosecutions only allowed on a complaint authorised by the Federal Government.

This 1920 Act authorises police to take fingerprints, footprints, and photographs of convicted persons and certain arrestees for identification, and requires these records to generally be destroyed if the person is acquitted or discharged.

This 1963 Act prohibits publishing or displaying "indecent" advertisements in Pakistan, with escalating imprisonment penalties for repeat convictions and powers to seize offending material.

The Investigation for Fair Trial Act, 2013 lets Pakistan's intelligence and law enforcement agencies use surveillance and communication interception as evidence in serious cases, but only after ministerial approval and a High Court judge's warrant, with a Review Committee and complaint mechanism to guard against misuse.

A 1952 Act letting the Provincial Government control electricity production, distribution and rates in the Karachi Division, with penalties for violations, replacing an earlier 1947 Sindh law.

The 1979 Ordinance establishing Pakistan's film Censor Boards, the standards for certifying or banning films (protecting Islam, national security, public order and morality), cinema licensing, and penalties for exhibiting uncertified films.

A 1923 law requiring managers (mutwallis) of Muslim charitable endowments (wakf) to file particulars and annual audited accounts with the district court, with fines of up to five hundred rupees (two thousand for repeat offenders) for failing to comply.

This 1979 Ordinance defines the offence of zina (sex outside marriage) and its Quranically-prescribed hadd punishments, provable only by confession or four adult Muslim male eyewitnesses to the act; it has since been very heavily amended, notably by a 2006 law that removed rape from its scope entirely.

A 1979 Hudood-era ordinance that classifies theft and robbery-type offences as either "hadd" (with prescribed punishments including amputation) or "tazir" (ordinary Penal Code punishment), setting strict evidentiary requirements and listing circumstances where hadd cannot be imposed or enforced.

A 1948 Ordinance implementing a post-Partition agreement between Pakistan and India to formally transfer and repatriate specific classes of prisoners between the two countries, with procedures for custody, warrants, and court jurisdiction.

A 1957 Act banning unauthorised use of protected names (like Quaid-i-Azam's name) and emblems (like the Pakistan flag and certain international organisations' emblems) in trade, business, trademarks, or company names, requiring Prime Minister-level permission.

A 1919 law regulating the licensing, sale, possession, and import of poisons in Pakistan, with penalties under Section 6 for unlicensed dealing or importation and special local restrictions under Section 4 where poisoning is common.

Lets the Federal Government declare associations "anti-national," freeze their funds, restrict access to places linked to them, and criminalizes membership in or support of such associations.

A 1977 Act criminalising gambling and running a 'common gaming-house,' with specific fines and prison terms, though it later ceased to apply outside Islamabad.

A 1911 law that lets the government declare "proclaimed areas" where public meetings need advance notice or permission, and can be banned or penalized if they risk causing sedition or disturbing public order.

This 1977 act empowers the government to preventively detain suspected smugglers and to seize property acquired through smuggling, setting out detention review procedures, Special Judge proceedings, and forfeiture rules.

The Prisoners Act, 1900 governs how prisons must receive, detain, transfer, and release people committed to custody by a court, and sets out procedures for bringing a prisoner to court to give evidence or answer a charge. It is a very old, heavily amended law.

The foundational 1894 law governing how prisons are administered in Pakistan, covering prison officers' duties, admission and discipline of prisoners, their food, health, and employment, visits, and offences relating to prisons -- an old law whose specific punishment provisions may have been superseded by later legislation.

This 1960 ordinance allows courts to place eligible offenders on probation or conditional discharge under a probation officer's supervision, instead of immediate sentencing, subject to good-behaviour bonds and limits on which offences qualify.

A colonial-era law criminalising the keeping of and presence in common gaming-houses and street gambling, giving police search, seizure, and arrest powers, though it has since been repealed in several provinces including Islamabad and Punjab.

The Reformatory Schools Act, 1897 lets courts send youthful offenders (originally boys under fifteen, later extended to girls) to a Reformatory School for three to seven years instead of prison, and sets rules for running such schools and penalising interference with detained offenders; a very old, heavily amended law.

A 1973 law empowering the Federal Government to transfer accused persons in custody from one Province of Pakistan to another by general or special order; Section 3 was later omitted by a 1981 ordinance.

The Security of Pakistan Act, 1952 gives the Federal Government power to detain, restrict the movement of, or expel non-citizens believed to threaten national security, subject to time limits on detention and review by a Board of senior judges, with cognizable, non-bailable offences for violations.

Requires anyone illegally holding weapons, explosives or ammunition to surrender them to designated authorities, with indemnity for voluntary surrender but severe tiered penalties — up to life imprisonment — for those who fail to do so.

The Telegraph Act, 1885 gives the Federal Government exclusive rights (subject to licensing) to run telegraph and related communication systems in Pakistan, and creates a series of criminal offences - such as tampering with lines, intercepting messages, or operating an unlicensed telegraph - to protect that infrastructure and the confidentiality of communications. It is a very old, heavily amended law.

A 1992 law that lets the Federal Government declare "terrorist affected areas," authorises police and armed forces to use force (including lethal force) to restore order there, and sets up Special Courts to try listed serious offences quickly.

A 1981 ordinance establishing Special Courts, staffed by local dignitaries, advocates, or magistrates, with exclusive jurisdiction to try traffic offences quickly and, since 1982, in summary proceedings.

The Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 requires a licence to possess wireless communication equipment, including televisions, satellite antennas, and video equipment, issued mainly by the Pakistan Post Office, with fines up to two hundred and fifty rupees and confiscation for unlicensed possession.

A 1996 Act (now repealed by Act XVI of 2020) that established a government-managed Fund, overseen by a Board of Governors, to provide financial and legal assistance to women in distress and detention.