Just read this really troubling story coming out of Rawalpindi,and it has just left me speechless . 22-year-old Christian boy,a ride-hailing driver,was shot nine times by police . Nine times .
This young man,Alyan Johnson,was apparently just doing his job on night of May 26 . Police were chasing some other armed suspect,and in chaos,they just started firing indiscriminately. And Alyan got caught in middle of it.
His family is obviously heartbroken and demanding answers. They say he was only dropping off passenger when this whole thing happened. They've lodged a complaint with Sadiqabad police station for a proper investigation.
And honestly,this is where things get really disturbing .
His uncle,Joseph Michael,said Alyan even raised his hands to identify himself as a driver but police just kept shooting . His exact words were,"We demand justice and imprisonment for the shooters who misused their authority." This is not a small thing ah. The boy now has multiple gunshot wounds,two fractures in his right leg,and is fighting for his life.
This entire situation feels so out of control.
Few things that are very clear from this incident:
- Johnson,an innocent driver,was shot 9 times by police anti-crime unit.
- His family insists he tried to identify himself but was shot anyway.
- The shooting highlights a much bigger problem of police violence in Punjab.
And this isn't just one isolated case,that’s scary part. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has been warning about these so-called "police encounters" for long time. Reports say over 670 encounters happened in just eight months of 2025,leading to 924 deaths . The numbers are just staggering .
But it gets worse. Families of other victims have reported that police intimidate them,telling them to bury their relatives quickly and threatening them if they try to seek justice. It's a whole system of fear .
One official,Raja Abdul Hanif,did visit Alyan in the hospital and assured family of justice . But when you hear about this deep-rooted culture of violence,you have to wonder if justice will ever really be served… or if this will become just another statistic...
