Pakistan, Jan. 15 -- 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,...