A national disgrace

There have been unedifying sights in 2017 than the struggle to keep policing honest political influence in Sindh

There have been few more unedifying sights in 2017 than the struggle to keep policing honest and free of political influence in Sindh. Any assumption that politicians have an investment in merit appointments within the police disappears in the face of the onslaught they have mounted against Inspector General (IG) of Police Allah Dino Khawaja. The previous IG was removed on the orders of the courts for his misuse of public funds and a swathe of irregularities in appointments within the force, made to accommodate his political patrons. There was a widespread welcome at the appointment of Khawaja as he was known for his integrity and professionalism. He introduced reforms aimed at combating corruption in police stations and most tellingly creating an entirely merit-based system of appointments and promotions.

Squealing in the political pens commenced immediately it was realised that Khawaja was no puppet. There commenced a distinctly toxic tug of war between the politicians on one side and a curious combination of civil society and sections of the establishment on the other. Sources suggest that with elections imminent the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) want a more user-friendly IG in position in order to line up the people it wants post-election in the upper echelons of the force. The IG found himself in and out of job as the two sides battled it out — to the obvious detriment of the people of Karachi and Sindh more generally.

That any political party should fight as hard and long as the PPP has to maintain and bolster corruption and malfeasance within the police force is nothing short of a national disgrace. That a manifestly honest policeman should be hounded from pillar to post for refusing to bend to political wills is shameful — and not a politician will turn a hair which in turn reveals just how venal and corrupt they are themselves. The entire affair serves not just Sindh but Pakistan as a whole — poorly. Small wonder that street crime in Karachi remains rampant if the party of governance is bent on institutionalising corruption at the highest level of the police force. We hereby register our disgust.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2018.

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