TARGETED ASSASSINATION AND ORGANIZED VIOLENCE: A CRIMINOLOGICAL AND LEGAL ANALYSIS OF PREMEDITATED MURDER BASED ON FIR EVIDENCE UNDER THE PAKISTAN PENAL CODE

Abstract

This study was focused on targeted assassination and organized violence. A criminological and legal analysis of premeditated murder based on FIR evidence under the Pakistan Penal Code is an attempt to analyze First Information Reports (FIRs) in the context of Pakistan Penal Code as founding legal and criminological texts in cases of premeditated targeted killings. The study addresses an important gap in the literature in the general area of international law or counterterrorism approaches as it fails to account for the processes of domestic criminal justice of creation of the organized homicide through narration and legal documentation at the FIR stage. Based on the Rational Choice Theory and on the Routine Activity Theory, targeted assassination is a conceptualized research of being a calculated and planned type of violence that is conditionalized by the intent of offenders, the opportunity structure as well as a collective criminal act. Using a qualitative form of doctrinal and narrative methodology, FIRs registered under relevant provisions of Pakistan Penal Code, specifically Qatl-e-Amd, common intention and criminal conspiracy were analyzed systematically. Data have been analyzed using a thematic and legal content analysis to recognize the indicators of mens rea, premeditation, weapon use and collaboration between the offenders. Results indicate that FIR narratives tend to have implicit values of planned and coordinated violence though, inconsistent legal formulation and non-verified reporting methodologies undermine its usefulness in creating an actionable criminal case. The study shows that FIRs are not simply procedural tools but important mechanisms in the direction in which the process of adjudication-the medium of investigation, prosecution and adjudication-outcomes. It suggests that by improving legal coherence and accountability, use of standardized FIR documentations, specialized police training and timely prosecutorial oversight should be used. By foregrounding FIR based analysis, the contribution of this research to criminological theory and the field of criminal law and policing policy, it is relevant to Pakistan.