Half of Peshawar's cops guarding VIPs

As crime and terrorism continue to plague the province, police officials remain preoccupied with protocol duties

PESHAWAR:

For cities plagued with endemic security threats, the first and foremost duty of law enforcement agencies should be to safeguard public safety through consistent surveillance however, for hapless cities like Peshawar where the police appears to prioritize the security of a few hundred VIPs over that of millions of citizens, it is perhaps no surprise that every other day some street robbery or crime of passion is reported from the provincial capital.

Shaheer, a youth, revealed to the Express Tribune that his father was robbed on the way to his office in Paharipura three months ago. "However, till date no one has returned our call from the police station. It appears as if they have forgotten the case," lamented Shaheer.

Similarly, Sardar Shafiq, a student from Hayatabad, shared his harrowing experience with street crime, while he was taking a walk in his street at night. "All of a sudden two motorcyclists came and snatched my mobile phone at gunpoint. I reported the case to the police but even after a month, the culprits have not been traced," riled Shafiq.

Shaheer's father and Shafiq are certainly only two of dozens of cases of street crime that are reported regularly across areas in Peshawar. For instance, a mobile phone was stolen from a Filipina tourist in the Hashtnagari area while a Thai tourist also had his mobile phone stolen at gunpoint in the Paharipura locality. Moreover, recently, armed personnel dressed in police attire robbed a fruit trader of Rs0.9 million at gunpoint, opening fire at him when he tried to resist.

According to SSP Operations Kashif Zulfiqar, property disputes, business transactions, weaponry and family issues are some of the reasons behind the increasing number of crimes in the city. "The police are currently working on more cases than ever before," he asserted.

Zulfiqar's assertion is hard to believe, when records clearly indicate that 50 per cent of 9,000 police officials deployed across 35 police stations in the city are assigned for the security of VVIPs, VIPs, public representatives, sensitive buildings, foreign consulates, and government offices. Thus, for a population of over five million, only 4,500 officials are on duty to fight against terrorism and crime, control protests and carry out raids. Hence, even though modern weaponry has been made available for the K-P Police, there is a shortage of manpower for using the equipment, resulting in a higher rate of street crime.

In fact, data obtained by the Express Tribune revealed that 140 to 175 incidents of snatching and two to five cases of robberies are currently reported in a single week. Furthermore, as many as 338 incidents of murder were reported in the city this year, in addition to 155 incidents of vehicle theft and 51 cases of abduction and disappearance.

Take as an example the case of Budh Bair, an area in Peshawar known for attacks on the police, target killing, drug smuggling and other major crimes. Surprisingly, only 140 police officers have been deployed in this highly sensitive area, which is home to a population of nearly 700,000 locals.

Moreover, only three old model mobile vans are available for the surveillance of this vast area while the Disputes Resolution Council (DRC), which was created to resolve local conflicts, is also inactive.

Speaking to the Express Tribune on the matter, CCPO Peshawar Qasim Ali Khan said, "A plan is ready for forming a separate security division for VIPs and government buildings. This will help meet the shortage of personnel and will reduce the load on officers from District Peshawar."