Daily Times

All this talk of Pakistani civic society getting together to plan out building bridges among communities and carving out a line of action against the onslaught of verbal weapons of mass destruction is a futile exercise.

After all, ours is a country fixated on the ways of the Dark Ages, the latest evidence of which made rounds on social media on Friday. In the video, an assistant sub-inspector of Taxila Police, infuriated by the accused and his mother’s resistance to arrest, lost his cool and knocked the poor woman into the middle of next week.

His rage not satiated by the sight of her wringing on the ground, the police officer stormed off; leaving a large group of bystanders to wonder the actual worth of their lives and their respect in the eyes of those donning uniform for their sake. The fact that the anger quickly became a viral sensation has compelled the authorities to take notice with the said police officer suspended and a statement laced with platitudes issued by the spokesperson.

But no matter how noble the CPO’s crusade may be, can he really vouch for his colleagues according “highest priority” to the protection of life and property of citizens? The last few years have seen many in the Punjab Police hell-bent on reducing the province to a police state. Countless instances of them violating the chadar and char deewari.

Dark clouds of repression linger on amid allegations of torturing people in illegal custody, which at times even persist despite directives from the higher judiciary. Therefore, if Taxila Police is willing to conduct an inquiry into rampant hubris and abuse of power, it would do well to consider the frequency with which its uniformed officers ignore the due process of law.

Only by ensuring legal consequences for those who use unnecessary force against suspects or play a part in political games can the police authorities actually begin to win the confidence of the people they are supposed to protect and serve. *