Police & the community

A footballer from Lyari was arrested & sent to prison on charges of police encounter and possession of illegal weapons

For a change, the police went to Lyari not to arrest alleged gang members and street criminals but to recruit players for their football team. The Karachi police looked for players in the nearly 150 football clubs in district South and selected 12 players to represent the law enforcers in inter-department matches.

This was a commendable move on the part of the police as they are giving the youth of Lyari an opportunity to join a team and play professionally. For the mostly unemployed youth of the neighbourhood, this is a good chance to reach other professionals, gain proper training and seek a future in professional sports. The residents of Lyari also welcomed the move, which is a good sign for the strained relationship they usually have with the police. Now that they see the law enforcers doing something to benefit their people, the residents of Lyari will be able to see the police as someone other than the enemy.

While the idea behind this project was remarkable, the execution still needs to sort out some glitches. Recently, the police arrested a young international football player in Lyari and have sent him to prison. Interviews with the family revealed that the young player had hitched a ride with a motorcyclist, who was riding a stolen vehicle. The player was also arrested and charged with police encounter and possession of illegal weapons. As the family tried to reason it out with the police, the player has been sent to jail with his medals and certificates confiscated.

This move will surely dampen the meagre progress that the police have made with Lyari’s residents. They will continue to see the law enforcers as elements trying to destroy their lives. There is a need for the high-ranking officials to intervene and make sure the charges are investigated thoroughly and quickly and the young player should be released if the charges are found baseless. The police need to sort out this mess before the country loses a good player to shoddy investigations.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2014.

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