2016 may be a small step in the long-awaited struggle for police reforms
KARACHI: It sounds very well to self-righteously condemn our police force as corrupt, incompetent, outdated and unprofessional. It also appears so intellectually appropriate to label it as a body of men with canine instincts of loyalty to their political masters instead of the law of the land. Having adequately rubbished this crucial organ of the state, we are now in the business of repeating the same sequence of degrading the Rangers by making them do what is not their job. As if it was a constitutional mandate, we go about demolition of our institutions with such vengeance and vigour.
In no civilised country can a chief minister summarily dispose of a police constable, much less an inspector general of police. How come it is possible in Pakistan to destroy the reputation, respect and career of an honest and progressive police officer simply because he would insist on following the law rather than the personal wishes and interests of his bosses?
As a citizen, one would demand that the inspector general of the Sindh Police be brought back from his forcibly granted leave and reinstated with full dignity and honour. It is not just one individual but the entire police force that needs to be rescued from the clutches of a power and pelf hungry mafia. Emulating the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police Ordinance, 2016 may be a small step in the long-awaited struggle for police reforms.
Naeem Sadiq
Published in The Express Tribune, December 24th, 2016.
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