A dangerous place for policemen

The price that Karachi law enforcers have had to pay is definitely great.

In the ongoing targeted operation in Karachi, nearly 138 policemen have lost their lives. Law enforcement agencies boast of the reduced targeted killings and bomb blasts since the operation began but they should not dismiss the fact that so many of their men have given up their lives in the line of duty.

Some of the criminals have escaped to other parts of the country while others have gone under cover. A few of them, mostly small scale extortionists and kidnappers, have been arrested by the police and Rangers but the price that the law enforcers have had to pay is definitely great. We have lost two deputy superintendents of police, three inspectors, 13 sub-inspectors, 16 assistant sub-inspectors, 26 head constables and 78 constables, while more than 162 policemen have sustained injuries during numerous attacks on the force.

One reason why the police force is paying such a price is the fact that the police department is highly politicised. When law enforcers swear allegiance to political leaders, they automatically become rivals of opposing parties and hence targets for their armed wings.

Another reason is that the police are paying the price for finally springing into action and deciding to root out crime from Karachi. Given that the violence in the city has got out of control, it is only natural to expect backlash from groups that have gained more weapons than even our own law enforcers.

To make sure our policemen stay safe and more people are motivated to join the force, we need to empower the police department with better intelligence gathering gadgetry and train them in the use of forensic methods so they can gather evidence from crime scenes, make stronger cases in the courts and set exemplary punishments.

We hope that the new anti-terrorism ordinance, which promises better law-enforcement capacities, is able to reduce the level of danger to their lives.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2013.

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