Welcome to Pakistan
Police force: Where are they in times of need?

Police force: Where are they in times of need?

The govt has the resources for security, yet the only time you see real manpower is when a VIP is in town.

Rida Sakina March 06, 2011

They stand tall and sharp in their starch white uniforms, guns ready in hand, next to the fluorescent orange cones dividing us and them. “Of course, the president must be in town,” I thought as I glared at the ever-ready police officers.

It’s funny to see these police officers and rangers come out of nowhere every time the president or prime minister is in town. Not only are they out on the streets, they look clean, vigilant and pose to be doing their jobs well.

Clearly, the government has the resources to protect the common man, yet the only time you see this kind of manpower is when a ‘VIP’ is in town.

Karachi is currently in a state of turmoil, with all the target killings. So, why is it that these resources, which are clearly available for the privileged, are not utilised to protect the common citizens of the country?

We, as citizens, are more vulnerable to the unstable situation our country is currently under, yet we are not given the same kind of protection or assurance that is enjoyed by those more ‘important’. Even then, we are safer in our little bubbles than the common man, since we still live in somewhat secure areas and can choose our paths carefully.

However, the majority of the country’s population do not have any sense of security or protection. They already live in the most hostile areas and are victims of violent crimes. Yet they are the ones who are not given any notice by the police or rangers. It is the elite who are being protected against a threat that probably does not exist for them to begin with.

Swarms of police officers, rangers and protection forces come out of the dust simply to ensure that the leaders reach from one location to another without any disturbance.

There is nothing wrong with protecting the ‘leaders’ of a country, but what about the rest of the population? Where is our protection and where are the police when we need them?

WRITTEN BY:
Rida Sakina A sub-editor on the Karachi pages of The Express Tribune.

The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (7)

Mariam | 13 years ago | Reply Elite force was usually seen in the streets few years back, and it played a good part, though now it is only reserved for the security squad of politicians or VIPs.

shahzad_ahsan@hotmail.com | 13 years ago | Reply Actually all these leaders or VIPs are not borh with silver spoon but unfortunately when they become important, they behave like predecessor's. An ordinary policeman follows his duty or posting orders as directed by the superiors and the superior are those I have mentioned above.

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

Fazal Gafur | 13 years ago | Reply Thanks Ms. Rida for writing exactly what every common citizen thinks of. Lots of Media guys wrote on it but nothing happens to the elephant skin. If our Govt line up themselves and properly follow the rule of this country everything will get in order itself.

Hanif awan | 13 years ago | Reply Rida , if you are a Pakistani , you must be knowing CHURI WALE MAJNOO. Most of them live on GIFTS n how can they change their HABITS,to come out to protect the civilians.If you remember , they asked for more salaries n they were given in PUNJAB but alas! no use.They are running for more n more,even participating in different CRIMES, personally.If the Police of Pakistan corrects herself,it is sure, the crime rate will decrease immediately,but,but there are so many iffs n butts.

TightDhoti | 13 years ago | Reply The police service of Pakistan is a relic of British colonial rule. As such its role is to protect and maintain the hegemony of the ruling elite, not serve the people. Until and unless the police force are trained, equipped and an adequate number of man/women power recruited, its going to remain nothing more than an over-glorified private security force. Then again, we as citizens have not helped to improve policing either. While you are questioning where the police is, in Islamabad people are complaining that there is too much police presence. An underfunded, demotivated police force is purposely starved of resources so that it remains an instrument of oppression, and wider society remains skeptical of its sincerity. That said, we should also appreciate that the police force has borne the brunt of terrorist attacks, and unlike the military which has an organized structure of support and compensation of slain soldiers, nothing in comparison is available to policemen and women. Sadly, none of the solutions are going to see changes made in the short term. At best we can hope for are incremental improvements.

The Only Normal Person Here. | 13 years ago | Reply Well written. I sincerely hope that you will not be bombarded with oh-but-look-at-their-low-income argument.

parvez | 13 years ago | Reply The thought behind the article is good. The men in white are simply traffic police to ensure smooth movement of traffic so that the VIP moves around swiftly. The type that provide protection are the ones in grey and khaki and over the years this lot has been so politicised that their effectiveness is next to zero. As one retired IG police said on TV that if you disband this force the next day crime will reduce by half.

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ

Police force: Where are they in times of need?

More by this writer

FOLLOW US