Punjab’s narcotics problem is severe and well-documented, and no one disputes that the State must confront it through strong, coordinated and lawful mechanisms. What is now in question, however, is which institution is actually responsible for narcotics enforcement, and whether the province’s law-enforcement ecosystem is being reshaped by force rather than by mandate.

The Punjab Crime Control Division (CCD) was set up as a specialised policing unit to assist operations against violent offenders, habitual criminals, and organised crime elements that regular policing struggled to contain. Its mandate is crime control in the conventional sense: supporting police investigations, reinforcing operations in high-risk areas, and helping apprehend dangerous individuals. It was not established as a narcotics enforcement body. Despite this, CCD recently announced that it would “clean Punjab of narcotics within 72 hours,” a proclamation that effectively placed it at the centre of a domain legally assigned to other institutions. Following this announcement, CCD publicly claimed that........

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