Police officials and guards frequently misbehave with people
LAHORE: This is apropos the news story about the misbehaviour of a security guard with a lady reporter. This was only the trailer of a tragic movie that has not been shown by the Pakistani media. The news was reported because the lady belonged to the media. Hundreds of such incidents take place daily across the country. Very few of them are reported. The majority of government officials, especially police officers and constables, treat the common man very poorly.
At Guru Nanak’s tomb, Nankana Sahib, I witnessed a protocol member constable for an 18 or 19 grade officer slap a boy on the pretext that he was walking on the same track as the officer. Similarly, in the Nadra offices, police officials and guards frequently misbehave with people. And finally, we all know public places, like our parks and roads, are closed in the name of security, providing more opportunities for police constables to misbehave with people. On October 22 at Baah-e-Jinnah, a VIP cricket match of a particular institution was taking place. Curfew-like security was provided to the cricketers. No one was allowed to enter the garden and access to nearby libraries was closed. The proper way would have been to allow entry after proper security searches. It is common sense that a terrorist would not come through a regular gate because he can easily enter through the walls of Jinnah Bagh.
I request the champions of democracy to review their policies. They should especially focus on the outdated thana culture, inherited from the British Raj, that was meant to rule, not to serve. They must design the police system in a way that police officials are trained like army officers, who perform their duty well and do not misbehave with the common man. They must take care of their security, but at the same time, they should keep in view the self-respect and constitutional rights of their voters. They refer to the Constitution whenever there is a threat to their government but they deliberately ignore the provisions of fundamental rights in the same Constitution.
Suleman Mansha
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2016.
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