Engaging the youth: Police induct 11 Lyari footballers, indict another in ‘fake’ cases

Shahzeb Baloch, an international footballer, was arrested on Sunday and booked for several crimes.

KARACHI:

Karachi police have inducted 11 football players from various football clubs of Lyari into the police football team. These lucky players will represent the Sindh Police in inter-departmental tournaments over the next few years. They were given the appointment letters at a ceremony held at the Police Headquarters in Garden on Saturday.

"We selected the players after conducting trials for three days," ASI Aftab Ahmed, who is managing the police football team, told The Express Tribune. "All the players were selected on merit and the police will provide them accessories and resources for training."



The footballers were selected from among the over 140 football clubs of district South. "Such measures are needed to not only overcome unemployment in Lyari but also to rehabilitate and groom the area's youth," the district South football federation's president, Gulab Baloch, told The Express Tribune. "These activities will be helpful in preventing the youngsters from falling into the lure of the gangs."

A total of 12 footballers were selected during the trials. One of them left for abroad a couple of days before the police handed out the appointment letters. The selected footballers are aged between 18 and 28 years. "Around 150 footballers were selected for the trials but only the 12 of us were selected to represent the police team as we fulfilled all the criteria for selection," one of the selected footballers, 26-year-old Junaid Anwar Ali, told The Express Tribune. "We have always seen the police take action against the people of Lyari. This is the first time they did something for us."

One step forward, two steps back

While the induction of the footballers from Lyari into the police football team was seen by many as a positive step, others wondered if it would be enough to uplift the reputation of the police in the restive area. Even as the department took one step into the right direction, Lyari police arrested a young international football player and booked him in cases of police encounter, possession of illegal weapons and a stolen motorcycle.

Shahzeb Baloch, the international footballer, was arrested by district South police from Chakiwara, Lyari. He had taken a lift from someone on the road who had unfortunately been riding a stolen motorcycle. The police arrested both of them and, according to the family, charged them in false cases of police encounter and possession of illegal weapons against them and sent them to prison.

Besides taking part in local and national-level tournaments, Shahzeb Baloch has also represented Pakistan a couple of times in Japan and Iran in South Asian football tournaments.

"On the one side, the police are trying to give a message that they are doing good by recruiting Lyari's youth in their football team but on the other hand, the same police are continuing their old practices; forcing the youth to take the law into their own hands," said Imran Baloch, a relative of Shahzeb. He reasoned that such actions by the police will inadvertently arouse feelings of anger and hatred towards the police among the residents.

"The police should have at least conducted a simple inquiry before leveling these charges against him. At least his career could have been saved," said another family member. Shahzeb's family, on receiving information of his arrest, had approached the police station and showed them the medals and certificates he had won to clarify that that he was a football player and not a street criminal. The police , however, remained unmoved and even seized his medals and certificates, added the family.

When The Express Tribune tried to contact the senior officials of the area, they refused to comment on the issue. "What do you mean they put the cases on him?" Lyari SP Shahnawaz Khan rebuffed when questioned regarding the nature of the cases registered against Shahzeb. "Go ask the SHO who has registered the cases," he said, before cutting the call.

Chakiwara SHO Naseer Magsi admitted that the police had found no criminal record for the arrested footballer. "In Lyari, most youngsters of Shahzeb's age are involved in criminal activities," he tried to reason. "It is the responsibility of the investigation wing to prove the charges leveled against him," he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2014.