The Principles of the Law of Self Defence in Pakistan: A Critical Evaluation

Self defence is one of the oldest laws of nature which is based on the instinct of survival. A person has a natural right to protect himself from any aggression that may seriously injure or kill him to the extent of doing the same to the assailant. Under Anglo-American jurisprudence, self defence applies to both civil and criminal law, while in Pakistan it solely applies to criminal law. The primary principles of self defence postulate that self defence is a guaranteed right of a person. He may exercise it provided there is a reasonable foreboding of danger to not just his own and another person’s body and property. However, there are limitations that imposed on this right under law. However, these are still highly circumstantial in nature. The law has specified certain circumstances in which self defence may be exercised to the extent of killing the assailant. Should those circumstances not occur, then the assailant may be seriously harmed only. Lastly, on a surface level examination, there seems to be certain similarities and differences of self defence between the Islamic law and Pakistani law respectively.