Ethnic polarisation: Supreme Court suggests altering police station boundaries

The limits should be based on administrative not political needs

KARACHI: In its recommendations to avoid political polarisation, the Supreme Court has observed that “boundaries of administrative units like police stations... ought to be altered so that members of different communities may live together in peace.” But what does this mean? Are the current jurisdictions of the police stations based on political or ethnic considerations?

The boundaries of the police stations are decided by the home department of each province. A senior Sindh home department official explained that the boundary of a police station can be redrawn according to administrative wishes, at any time. “The apex court has expressed its concern over the practice since such decisions to realign a police station boundaries are in effect political ones based on vested interests,” he said.

Giving an example, the official said that in Sindh’s countryside, a police station commands the area’s population and in effect means, you control your voters. “The same applies to Karachi, where different police stations that come under the power base of different political parties get their boundaries redrawn according to their wishes,” he said.

Former Sindh Inspector General of Police, Afzal Shigri, said the court’s suggestion is extremely important so that one segment of the population isn’t alienated from another, based on ethnicity. “If you don’t start redesigning the boundaries of a police station purely on the basis of administrative needs and instead resort to considering the ethnicity of an area, then in effect the police too becomes complicit in dividing the people,” Shigri said.

He gave an example: a police station could decide not to include an area within its jurisdiction just because it knows that people from that area, who not only support another political party but are also of a different ethnicity, would have to enter the police office that comes in the influence of their rival party. But this, in effect would be the “police dividing the people”.

Ethnic Divides

Katti Pahari Urdu-speaking vs. Pathan

Qasba Colony Urdu-speaking vs Pathan

Sharafi Goth Urdu-speaking vs Baloch

Banaras Chowk Urdu-speaking vs Pathan

Quaidabad Urdu-speaking vs Sunni Tehreek

New Karachi Sunni Tehreek vs Sipah-e-Sahaba

Sachal Urdu-speaking vs Afghanis

Surjani Town Pathan vs Seraiki-speaking

Malir City Urdu-speaking vs Baloch

Landhi Urdu-speaking vs Pathan

Al-Falah Urdu-speaking vs Baloch

Korangi 2 ½ Urdu-speaking vs Sindhi

Khokharpar Urdu-speaking vs Sindhi

On August 29, the IGP gave a power-point presentation in courtroom which included a list of these flashpoints in Karachi that were included in the Supreme Court document on page 27.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2011.