Apprehending the law

Security of person. No person shall be deprived of life or liberty save in accordance with the law.

— Article 9 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

The projected persona of Rao Anwar was that of bravado and resilience against peddlers of terrorism and violence. Encircled by armed cops and heavy security contingent round-the-clock, he was portrayed as a man out to exterminate the scum of the earth at the cost of his precious life.

That Rao Anwar was a rogue cop with least regard for due course of the law was public knowledge. That he was backed by the high and mighty of the land was a known fact. That he apprehended, prosecuted, and passed death verdicts as the absolute high priest and ultimate arbiter of law was a subject of folklore. Everybody knew everything, for decades. Coincidentally, it required Naqeebullah’s youthful sacrifice to proclaim emperor’s nakedness in public view.

A 15-page inquiry committee report in the Naqeebullah Mehsud murder case has been submitted to the Supreme Court. According to the report, around 444 ‘accused’ terrorists were killed on the pretext of police encounters under Anwar’s tenure from July 25, 2011, to January 19, 2018.

Karachi has a gory history of almost four decades. Beset with political, ethnic, and security challenges, successive governments resorted to quick-fix solutions. The police were brazenly used to neutralise miscreants and criminals. The scope soon extended to political opponents. This was like unleashing a Frankenstein. With the taste of unbridled power, virtual impunity from law, and the licence to kill at whim, the force got embroiled in the murky zones of land grabbing, extortion, and mercenary killings. The uniformed abettors and facilitators soon became stakeholders in the commercial booty that the city offered in abundance. Like private militias of goons, these police officials patronised a handpicked team of loyalists not answerable to any chain of command, code of ethics, or statutory law. Rao Anwar embodied the phenomenon at its best.

In its propensity to dispense swift and severe justice, successive governments in Pakistan have traditionally used the police as an effective appendage. Punjab and Sindh display particular fondness for this unwritten policy. The Punjab police boast of a series of legendary encounter specialists infesting their ranks since the early nineties. Those in the seats of power have little patience for the cumbersome and laborious antics of the judicial process. Their perennial complaint is the low conviction rate and lengthy trial court proceedings, often leading to the release of established criminals and terrorists from custody. Their solution: the Wild West brand of justice. Politicos are there for five years, historically even less than that. They want wonders. They want to keep their political marketing machinery oiled all the time. To their electorate, the image of Robin Hood or Maula Jatt sells better than a brooding Lincoln or a statesmanlike Mandela. Rao, like chest thumping poster boys, suit their persona and macho governance style perfectly.

Some well-meaning, yet myopic, advocates of extrajudicial measures identify poor conviction rates, bails to hardened criminals, lack of substantial evidence, and lengthy trials as roadblocks. They brand courts as institutionally overburdened and under resourced. Moreover, deficient police training in forensics and modern methods of investigation are also cited as obstacles to attain desired law and order objectives — thus necessitating short-term strategies and extra-legal approach.

However, encounter killings, once recognised as a legitimate policy priority to handle serious offenders, become a free for all operational enterprise among all ranks of police force. Apart from currying favours from their political masters, bagging medals of gallantry and out-of-turn promotions, occupying prized postings, and amassing personal fortunes, they establish their own fiefdoms and power structures. Suspended successively by the Supreme Court, the Sindh High Court and the chief minister, Rao Anwar managed to retain the same post for nine long years. This alone speaks of the influence and power clout the man enjoyed.

Apprehending Rao and bringing him to justice is still a mirage. He is privy to countless sinister plots and crimes spreading their tentacles and linkages to top political echelons. It serves many to either facilitate his escape or silence him altogether. Even if Rao is brought to the dock and indicted, it would be pointless if the spectre of encounters and extrajudicial killing is not addressed in totality. The deeper malaise would fester like a bleeding wound to sprout its ugly face in some other person, at some other place or setting.

The question confronting us is simple. Do we want to apprehend Rao, make an example out of him, conduct some heated talk shows, point fingers towards some powerful political string masters, and move on? Or do we need to seriously confront the issue in entirety? The latter requires broad-based introspection, across-the board political will, and major institutional revamp.

We need to sit down seriously and decide whether we want to pursue due course of law, or leave dispensation of justice to political or individual discretion. Police encounters, whether genuine or false, need to be registered in FIR form, with access and oversight from judicial, legislative, media and external quarters. Citizen oversight committees, proposed in 2002 police order, are still fictional accounts. But let’s also be fair to the law enforcers. Scrutinise them intensely, bridle their power, but empower them as a force. Provide them institutional security, resources, training, and independent decision-making apparatus. Their postings and transfers should be governed by institutional dynamics rather than political preferences. Allow them to function as independent and professional agents of state and not puppets of successive regimes. And then fiercely hold them accountable.

There is more to it than just Rao Anwar and Naqeebullah!

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2018.

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