The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government appears to be looking for a poster boy, a heroic figure like Batman or Chulbul Panday, to compensate for the police reforms promised during the election campaign.
Massive reshuffles made often in the police command reflect the frustration regarding efforts to fill the systematic and structural gaps.
It has been over two years since the PTI formed the government in the province as well as the federal capital. However, no substantial reforms in legislation, infrastructure, operations, investigations or capacity-building have been made so far.
On the other hand, the crime rate in the province is on the rise along with tragic incidents of police brutalities like the death in custody of Salahuddin and the Sahiwal killings. The day to day interaction of the people with the police has not improved.
All this is very much in contradiction with the high tides of optimism the PTI had offered the public while it was in opposition and its leader Imran Khan was struggling to form his government. In the famous Minar-e-Pakistan public meeting in 2011 that proved instrumental in the recognition of PTI as a mainstream political party, he had identified two posts as as the main causes of public outcry, the Patwari and the policeman.
After forming the government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI pushed the agenda further along with comparisons of the police in K-P with Punjab.
Then IGP K-P Nasir Durrani had contributed significantly to implementing the policies that also led to election gains for the party. However. the approach could not be replicated in Punjab during the current tenure.
With failure to introduce purposeful police reforms, with each passing day an approach to adopt aggressive policing is taking roots in the government policy.
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This is partly reflected in a steep rise in the number of police encounters in Punjab in the first half of 2020. These have almost doubled when compared to last year. No police encounter by the investigations wing of Lahore police was reported in 2019. In 2020, the CIA Lahore has many such incidents to its credit.
Background discussions with several senior police officers also substantiated the yearning of the ruling party. The police officers have reportedly been receiving instructions to ‘accelerate stern action’ against ‘anti-social elements’.
One main factor behind the frequent reshuffling is the search for an officer who could personify PTI’s political manifestation.
The PTI is looking for a police officer who its leaders can present as a ‘real crime fighter’, an upright and honest figure reflecting the image of Prime Minister Imran Khan as a crusader against corruption.
The horror of the Model Town still haunts the police cadres and is proving to be a hurdle in acceptance of the policy of aggressive policing.
This is one of the major factors that have led to another massive reshuffle, including replacement of CCPO Lahore and seven other DIGs, some regional police officers (RPOs) and district police officers (DPOs), after appointment of five IGPs and dozens of extensive reshuffles of officers within two years.
The approach of adopting aggressive policing through honest officers to compensate for the failure to introduce systematic, structural police reforms has been reflected in a few key postings in the latest reshuffle also.
However, the government is neglecting the danger that the approach may backfire. Any mishandling in the wake of aggressive policing can wipe off all the goodwill and achievements of the force. Moreover, no makeshift arrangements can replace fundamental structural reforms having a sustainable impact.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2020.
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