Each year 4th of August is commemorated as Police Shuhada day to honour the cops who fell in the line of their duty. Police in our country is not only responsible for maintaining routine law and order but also shoulders the additional heavy responsibility of acting as the first line response force in fighting terrorism and complex internal security situations. That is we have a significant number of Police Shuhada. Unfortunately, these figures cannot be expected to stay unchanged. Sacrifices of this force in improving the overall security situation in the country are worthy to be mentioned and appreciated. However, despite a lot of deliberation, the blues could not improve their repute in the eyes of common people. One of the reasons for this poor standing is the inherited colonial legacy that carries an intimidating attitude that makes it difficult for the institution to become people-centric and public friendly.
A few days back, five Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) policemen, including a sub-inspector, were martyred and five others injured in an exchange of fire during a raid in Chilas, Gilgit-Baltistan. At the face of it, the raid was a bungled-up operation which I am sure it was. The past-midnight raid resulted in the death of five cops including a sub-inspector. Two persons including a young university student were also killed in the unfortunate raid. What went wrong in this ill-fated episode is yet to be made public. So, it would be very easy for me or anybody else to whip the police and put them to face harsh criticism. But while doing so, the fact that not every shortcoming of the police can be attributed to the force and its officers, cannot be ignored. Internal professionalism and competence are the issues but to be addressed at the policy level. Giving this force required training and strength to handle complex situations has become more important than ever before. What happened in Diamer and what happened earlier in Sahiwal a few years back, has raised serious questions on the training aspect particularly intelligence gathering exercise by the department.
Leaving the routine allegations on police aside, the blues remain a punching bag for all criticism against them. The barrage of complaints against the police is long yet genuine to a great extent. Transgression of authority, harassment, extreme highhandedness, lethargic attitude, failure to respond in time, hesitation to register cases, acceptance of illegal gratification, financial corruption, moral turpitude, connivance, and partnership with anti-social elements are few allegations rightly hurled at the Police department. However, at this very time which is costing the nation lives are the institutions’ professional inefficiency such as biased discretionary actions, misapplication of terrorism law, and above all defective intelligence gathering. Poor training in counter-terrorism aspects particularly intelligence gathering has become more pronounced.
It is high time to give police a new direction and orientation, assembling it more as a service provider and less of an instrument of brute force
Under the 1973 constitutional framework, policing is a provincial subject. Provincial governments exercise complete discretion in using the manpower and resources of the force. Each of its four provinces and two administered areas (Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan) has its police force responsible for the jurisdiction extending only to their own geographical territory. From the perspective of Gilgit-Baltistan Police, the force is still short of becoming a proper disciplined and trained force. Besides performance and training issues, the department is seriously divided due to deep-rooted sectarian as well as tribal associations. Every officer carries a tag of his sect and tribe. Thus the police are not trusted by the people as well as the government. That is why normally senior police officers or young officers are requisitioned rather imported into Gilgit-Baltistan through establishment division. This instead of improving the situation makes the state of affairs worse by unwittingly instigating a divide between local and no locals. The insatiable yearning of both the bureaucracy as well as the local politicians to get control over the Police or at least to influence it remains another big issue. But in reality, the clergy of rival sects exercise an invisible yet most persuasive influence on the department. Like the rest of the country, a huge strength of Gilgit-Baltistan police personnel remains struck-off the active strength being deputed on miscellaneous duties. A big strength of the force and police mechanical transport remains committed on heavy guard duties with scores of ministers, senior bureaucrats, politicians, judges, and even religious clerics. Limited vehicles placed on the disposal of the police station for patrolling as well as administrative duties, most of the time, remain either broken requiring serious repairs or at times remain off-road due to deficiency of fuel. Thus, sometimes police have to use taxies and cabs to transport the under custody suspects to courts. Such scenes are often captured by media and then a wave of criticism is unleashed on the department. But the important question remains that are the police responsible for complacency by political governments in existing systems where the subsequent governments have failed to invest enough in law enforcement capacity building of the force?
The impediments in the way of institutions to become a better force are huge and historical. But there should be someone willing to do his bid. The Inspector General Police of Gilgit-Baltistan has the burden of the dead bodies of cops as well as civilians which he should feel as such. As a force commander, he must study the failure and take steps to avoid such incidents. In today’s media-savvy environment, any incident of breach of discipline or bad conduct by Police does not remain hidden. It immediately gets reported, attracts a lot of attention, and creates instant yet negative ripples in society. It is high time to give police a new direction and orientation, assembling it more as a service provider and less of an instrument of brute force. Police in all provinces in general and that in Gilgit Baltistan needs to implement an inward-looking vigilance mechanism in the force. Better officers for effective training, and improved logistics would be fruitful and productive in saving lives on the thin blue line which matter to the society as well as our entire nation.
Writer is a versatile analyst and speaker on contemporary issues