‘We protect lives, yet are not respected’

ISLAMABAD: Often accused of taking bribes, arranging fake encounters and torturing detained people, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police often find themselves under a hail of verbal bullets.

But they are not without their own fair share of problems. Low salaries, long duty hours, non-availability of pick and drop service and lack of official residence and daily allowances or proper equipment are a few of them.

“Despite increased salaries, we always remain hand to mouth during the last 10 days of every month,” a police officer from the Sabzi Mandi police station said. “With increasing inflation, it has become increasingly difficult to make ends meet.”

A police constable Hikmatullah* said: “The police bus drops me at my place of work in the morning but then I have to get back home myself. I am dependent on lifts from commuters when my duty ends.”

Constable Muhammad Ramzan* from the Reserve Police Force stationed at the Constitution Avenue complained that getting lifts was no longer an easy task. “Because of the security situation, people hesitate. I live in Tarnol and it takes me over two hours and three ‘lifts’ to reach home,” he said.

Another major complaint stems from the way they are treated by the people. “At these checkpoints, we are not allowed to sit during our 12- to 14-hour duty. In case of a terrorist attack, we will be the first ones to die. We protect the lives of people, yet they do not respect us,” Ramzan said.

“Even drivers of government officials misbehave with us. They believe vehicles with government number plates cannot be checked,” he added.

Despite their hard work, some officers complained, they often face the wrath of their superiors for alleged negligence of duty. Recently, a Superintendent of Police (Saddar) cut the salaries of three police constables deputed at a checkpoint near TNT Colony for negligence. The constables were pardoned only after intense appeals.

Lack of adequate resources is another matter that compromises citizen’s security and puts the lives of police officials at risk. “Four months ago, a police inspector died because there were no vehicles available for transporting him to the hospital after he was accidentally electrocuted,” said a police constable.

“The authorities refused to provide transport to shift him to the hospital as they claimed that the vehicles did not have fuel...If this can happen to an inspector, where do we stand?” he questioned. *Names have been changed on request

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2010.