The writer is a human rights activist and a blogger
Law-enforcement agencies in Pakistan are usually blamed for corruption and for being in cahoots with criminals, however, recently, the elite contingent of Pakistani law enforcement — usually called in when the security situation becomes too troublesome to handle for basic level officers — has come under fire due to allegations of extrajudicial killings and for sporting a general ‘hair-trigger’ attitude.
Rangers first drew media attention when a personnel opened fire on an unarmed young man in Karachi. The most recent controversial episode has Rangers supposedly shooting an innocent taxi driver. What most of us fail to recognise is that Rangers personnel in Pakistan are not provided with the necessary equipment to carry out their assigned duties. They do not have heavy body armour, ballistic shields, entry tools, armoured vehicles, advanced night vision optics or motion detectors for covertly determining the positions of hostages and hostage-takers. In fact, they are overworked and under-equipped individuals, who do the best they can with the tools that they have.
Let’s take the Sarfaraz Shah shooting incident and focus on the fact that even in the news footage — which has been touted as concrete proof of Rangers personnel’s alleged misconduct — the 19-year-old man from Karachi is seen grappling with the Rangers’ personnel. Had the Ranger been equipped with a simple stun gun, he would have probably only stunned the boy, but unfortunately, the only deterrent that the Ranger had was his gun, which he put to use.
In the most recent event that stirred up controversy — the killing of a taxi driver, Murad, by Rangers personnel — the accused have been remanded in police custody. Murad was supposedly ‘gunned down’ by the ‘villainous’ security personnel for no apparent reason. But the taxi driver was told to stop; he was given time to stop and still he paid no heed. This behaviour is certainly not expected of an ordinary taxi driver.
No one wants a fast-moving vehicle hurtling towards them. One tries to defend himself in any way possible and at the time, the Ranger’s mind probably told him the fastest way to defend himself was to shoot. This tragedy was played on the news repeatedly, hinting that Rangers, in fact, the bane of Pakistani crime fighters. However, this incident could easily have been prevented had the Rangers been given the appropriate equipment to perform their duties. Maybe some mobile barriers and long-range light sources could have saved the day. Had the Rangers been stationed in a secure post made of blast-resistant material, perhaps their actions would have been less drastic. From some of the reports given to the investigating authorities, it has emerged that not even a clearly illuminated ‘stop’ sign was present at the post.
The real question here is this — why doesn’t the taxpayers’ money go into providing our law-enforcement agencies with basic equipment? If we don’t provide them with the necessary equipment, they should really not be blamed every time such an incident takes place.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (15)
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Agree with @Critique /
..Sarfraz Shah was caught red handed , he used to rob people on Gun point , a gun too was recovered ..and the Video shows it ....he lunged at the Rangers...and misfortune happened .
Rubbish argument. I support the Rangers when it comes to the Sarfaraz Shah incident - the kid clearly lunged at the armed man's weapon. For all those people who suggest the Rangers should not have shot the kid, please go to a foreign country and doing that to a police officer's weapon. Also, I would have pitied the young man had he not been in possession of a toy gun. One less (potential) robber off the street is something I won't be complaining about.
As for the taxi driver incident - I must admit, the Rangers dealt with the situation wrong. Yes, they should have shot the tyres as opposed to the driver's chest - but can we please stop glorifying the dead and pretending as if they did nothing wrong? The Rangers are there for your protection - why would you speed up the car when they're asking you to stop?
@iftekhar hussain:
Sir, If I may, how many Target / Sectarian / Terrorist / Political / Family / Honour killing are you gonna waver for only TWO proven mistaken identity Killings by the Rangers???? In both of these incidents Rangers personnel found guilty and done the time and will do it in this one also.
Sarfaraz Shah's brother got Govt Job, Taxi driver's widow got 18 lacs house plus Wazeefa, and I agree that no amount of compensation can never bring back the lost loved ones But as a member of 'Civil Society' will you and I (and likes of mine) have balls to ask the same question of compensation to these Target / Sectarian / Terrorist / Political / Family / Honour killers let alone abandoning their criminal behavior altogether???? I mean they share the same turf, they look like us, they live among us, HECK they are from us and WE are from them.!!!!!!!!! Amazing isn't it.
Rangers, Army, Doctors, Lawyers, Police, Judiciary, Press, etc etc all of us belongs to the same society. Until we, as a sole unit member of society will not do our part, then at least we should be honest enough to blame ourselves.
Salutations for the Writer. Sir Saeed-ur-Rehman, indeed you are the honest one.
regards,
And where do you dwell Mr. Writer. How many more killings are you waiting for in the hands of this state machine? Come down to earth, sooner the better.
Life is cheap in Pakistan and that makes everyone trigger happy. They know that the judicial system can be bought out, even if they commit murder and that's the general public. Laws don't apply for the rich and powerful. And the Army and related paramilitaries also consider themselves above the law.
Having said that, this incident is more to do with poor training than anything. Our military and paramilitary are trained to shoot a rifle and perform parade duties. They have no training of threat assessment and decision making.
I agree with the author's point about lack of proper equipment. Anyone manning a check post should at least have ballistic body armour i.e. bullet proof vest. But the money is mostly spent on importing vehicles so the generals and other sahib's kids can go for joy rides at state expense.
Insensible !!!
The most dumbest arguments I have ever read....
2 things. First, a rangers guy can write a letter in English. Rangers from 1992 to 2002 were paid more than what Police was paid from 1947-2002 combined. If rangers chose not to buy necessary equipment for themselves, whose mistake it is. Second, Rangers' presence in Karachi hasn't sorted out anything, if not complicating things altogether. How can a city get 12-20 target killings daily with the "prime crime fighting unit - rangers" being present virtually on every corner of the city. But they are busy collecting money from oil and water tankers, therefore making sure that these services are delivered to citizens with enough gratitude. The same city looses 20-30 cars and tens of motorcycles every day, again under the watchful eye of rangers.
The crux of the matter is simple. Rangers are not a force to be used in a city and after being in Karachi for 2 decades, they have not sorted out a single issue, and for this reason alone, they should be sent back to borders.
In us if you donot obey police orders and law order situation was remotely similar you will definitely be shot.
Still this is not the right justfication. They could fire on the taxi tires to burst instead of straight fire, atleast the life of innocent person could safe. I believe this is the the universal security protocol that Human Safety First. The way our security personnel are trained, they think that they are only superior, only their life are most important and the people of Pakistan who are paying taxes to feed them are 3rd class citizens.
Pathetic view point.
Rangers = Army. They should be at the borders. They are slowly taking over the city and think of themselves are the kings. They have land cruisers/vigos etc. and most of the time they are protecting their own top notches.
They should be sent back to the borders. Police should be equipped and empowered.
Because then they will actually do some work and stop the deteriorating law and order situation in the city -- and then the primary source of money for some very 'important' people will dry up.
Why would policymakers who profit from the destruction of Karachi actually try to save it?
Bite me! A simple hit from the rifle butt could have made Sarfaraz Shah unconscious. There was no need of spraying him with bullets. The same goes for Taxi Driver. Firing at the tires would stop the car almost immediately but the Rangers chose to fire 4 bullets in his chest.
You ask : Why doesen't our tax payers money go into providing our law enforcement agencies with proper equipment ? With one of the lowest tax to GDP ratios in the region what do you expect. Lets prioratise - are BMW's and Land Cruisers, golf courses and foreign medical visits, trips to the KSA with stop overs in Dubai and baba / beti's foreign college fees etc etc more important or proper equipment ? Lets be honest here, most of the above is also paid from loans begged from outside doners which eventually will be paid back by the people.
Mr saeed This has to be the dumbest argument I have read in the defense of ranger. Last time I checked defense budget was a hefty chunk out the national budget, why ranger is not well equipped, according to your argument, should be checked with military establishment. You don't need a stunt gun or night vision glasses to have common sense when dealing with in armed suspect. You mentioned about the poor guy sarfraz who was shot by ranger, yes the guy, who was clearly un armed, did came close to the ranger but they could have shot him in the foot, if they were scared for their lives from this poor guys pleas. Similarly, they could have shot the tire of the taxi if they were threatened by the car. I don't see the need of any special equipment put the basic training a and some level of competence, which our armed services clearly lacks. It's a shame that you are trying to justify their indifference towards human lives.