Punjab Police: A Forsaken Organization
By Syed Kamran Hashmi
Westfield, IN

 

As if the whole world has changed in the last eight years: the financial crises shook the US economy and almost sank the whole system. So forceful was its blow that it could only be rescued by pumping trillions of dollars in the markets. Besides that, Barrack Obama won the Presidential elections and moved into the White House as its only non-White resident ever, a miracle almost as surprising as Moses converting his rod into a serpent.

A couple of years later, starting from Tunisia, a massive wave of public protests - the Arab spring - swept the Middle East and North Africa, overthrowing some of the most powerful and stubborn dictators of the region: Muammar Qaddaffi of Libya (killed), Husni Mubarak of Egypt (incarcerated), Zain-ul-Abideen Ibn-e-Ali of Tunisia (resigned) and Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen (exiled).

Then a mysterious yet a formidable force, Islamic State (IS) rose from nowhere and took over half of Iraq and Syria unleashing its own version of violent and abrasive Islam, a version that is much harsher and inhuman than what is practiced and promoted by Saudi Arabia and the Taliban.

Pakistan too experienced its fair share of turmoil. In March of 2007, former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry got suspended illegally by the military dictator enraging the whole nation who poured into the streets till the CJP was restored. Few months later, he was thrown into a house arrest along with his family for months, only to be set free and reinstated by the civilian government. After he returned back to power the second time, he finished his tenure without any interruption as the strongest ,and may be, the most controversial person in Pakistan.

Along with that the PPP-led coalition completed its five-year tenure, and transferred power to the PMLN after the general elections of 2013 peacefully, a miracle for Pakistanis more astonishing than the victory of a Black President for the Americans.

Then, with the consent of all political parties, just under a couple of years ago, the long overdue operation against terrorists in the North Waziristan finally commenced with jets roaring over Miran Shah like thunderstorms, their belly spewing out bombs. We can appreciate the results today. Above all, Peshawar massacre has jolted the national spirit compelling us to unite as one nation and crush the menace once for all.

In short, everything changed from one pole to another, even our wishy-washy stance on sectarianism is shaping up and very soon, I am confident, Pakistanis would step forward to protect their minorities like a mother shields her newborn child. However, what has not changed are the universal laws of motion, the gravitational pull, the Divine Scripture, the innate ability of fire to burn or water to extinguish it, and the dismal performance of Punjab police. Nor does it seem that it would improve any time soon. At least we know from our experience under the authoritative rule of Mian Shahbaz Sharif who thinks the most important job of police is to serve him and his family, that an independent law enforcing agency does not fall in the list of his priorities, not even at the bottom.

No, I do not hold him personally responsible for the Model Town Massacre of 2014 when police mowed down more than a dozen workers of Pakistan Awami Tehreek. To be clear, I do not think it was a planned operation with an intention to kill as many have tried to portray. Nonetheless, I believe it was the inability of the police to handle any tense situation that led to the unnecessary use of power.

Following the same trail, it was exposed again: a few weeks ago, SHO Shahzad Waraich in Daska, Sialkot shot down Tehseel Bar President Rana Khalid Abbas and his colleague Irfan Chohan during a brawl. True, the lawyers were violently protesting and provoking the officer, even calling him out to show his strength. However, a well trained officer in that situation would have kept himself calm. But, the ill-prepared policeman, did not know how to get out of the conflict once he had jumped in; instead the higher the tone of the lawyers got, the deeper the police officer dug his feet, aggravating the dispute, till one of them died. After Lahore and Sialkot, we know very well that it will happen somewhere else, followed by somewhere else and again someplace else. The question is when and how will it stop. What will it take for Shahbaz Sharif to understand the importance of the fundamental reforms in the forsaken department? How many people will have to lose their lives before he gets it? Hundreds? More?

Does he not know that ignoring them is hurting his reputation and challenging his claim of being a good administrator? That Police has become so corrupt and incompetent that ordinary people when robbed or abducted negotiate with the criminals themselves and cut a deal directly with the perpetrators instead of involving the police. That they feel if they followed the rules they would have to settle the issue with two adversaries instead of just one!

We do not know the answer to all these questions, but a Chief Minister who instead of human development is focusing on road works; instead of promoting education in the province is busy running the foreign policy; instead of improving law and order is more concerned about the electricity crisis can be called anything except a good executive. Do we not deserve a person who can take the bull by the horn or we just have to live with a Chief Minister who disregards the safety of his people?

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