Daily Times

It’s time to talk about the elephant in the room. Karachi, the largest city in the country, has yet to come out of the clutches of street crime. Despite a much-welcomed decline in the early months, reports indicate that as many as 45,000 incidents have taken place in the ongoing year while there’s still a week left. Since any leadership is truly tested in times of crisis, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah’s unapologetic emphasis on calling a spade a spade and highlighting how police were to act like a service, not a force, deserves great appreciation. His reasserting the pressing need to bolster the police force cannot be dismissed as mere rhetoric. It is a clarion call, echoing the urgent need for transformational change within a system that has, for far too long, been compromised and beleaguered by corruption and inefficacy. Although the crucial role of Rangers in weeding out criminal gangs cannot be highlighted enough, it is primarily the ambit of Sindh Police as the law enforcement authority to ensure peace and protection of civilians.

Time and again, our police have turned a blind eye to rampant criminal activities, with some officers themselves rumoured to be involved in this very chaos. Any serious effort to rebuild the long-eroded trust would involve dealing with the nexus that allows criminal elements to operate with disgraceful impunity.

First and foremost, we must embark on a rigorous process of purging the police force of any and all elements that compromise its integrity. Appointments and promotions must be based solely on merit-enough of the political manoeuvring and backroom deals that have led us to this sorry state! But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We are living in an era where criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The police must upgrade their toolkit to combat the relentless tide of organized crime and terrorism.

And let’s not forget accountability-an absolute essential in restoring the legitimacy of our police force. It’s time to hold officers to a higher standard. Any officer involved in illegal activities must face the full weight of the law; there should be no sacred cows! As rightly pointed out by Mr Shah, the goal is not merely reform; it is the creation of an institution that the public can trust-an institution prepared to meet the grave challenges of the 21st century. *