Sir: The recent, ludicrous event on Jinnah Avenue, Islamabad has once again created enough room to criticize, in fact, deride the performance of the police department in the country. There is no doubt at all that our police surveillance mechanism has badly collapsed over a period of time. The police have achieved little compared to the amount of funds at their disposal in these last 12 years and the level of independence that they have enjoyed. The amount of funds and the ability to use them independently has multiplied manifold but has been accompanied with deterioration in service delivery. It is time they are made accountable and, most importantly, independent as well. It is quite evident that the working of the police department gets disturbed by the political authorities due to which they are lacking in the execution of their duties in a proper manner. In order to make the police more vigilant and efficient, sound institutional independence, de-politicisation and incentive structure re-alignment are the ways forward.
SAUD BIN AHSEN
Lahore