By Amir Zia
Monday, January 20, 2014
The News
Our men in uniform are not always on the wrong side of the fence. They do give sane advice to our elected representatives – in this case, it is not to play favourites in the police force and allow its leadership to decide transfers and postings
The tussle between the Sindh government and top security officials over transfers and postings in Karachi Police is now an open secret. The provincial government wants to appoint favourites on ‘lucrative’ slots – a move that has strained its ties with many senior security officials and is seen as jeopardising the ongoing operation against criminals and terrorists in the megacity.
If the Pakistan People’s Party bosses could have their way, Karachi’s Additional IG Shahid Hayat Khan and all his DIGs would have long been sent packing. Many other ‘untrustworthy’ SSPs, SPs, DSPs and SHOs would also have been shunted to secondary positions to open way for the PPP loyalists.
The Sindh government’s most recent move to replace the Karachi DIGs came at a time when the police force was still attempting to recover from the shock of Chaudhry Aslam’s assassination in a massive suicide bomb attack on January 9.
“Even on the night of 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal (January 13-14), when we were busy with security arrangements, the PPP ministers were pushing for the replacement of DIGs”, a flabbergasted senior police official confided to this scribe. “When there is so much uncertainty and so much political interference, effective policing obviously becomes a more difficult job in a dangerous city like Karachi.”
It was nothing less than an intervention from the khakis that blocked the PPP provincial government’s push to place its men on senior police positions – at least for the time being. The concerns of the security officials were conveyed in a more matter of fact and terse manner to Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah by none other than Major General Rizwan Akhtar, the DG of Pakistan Rangers (Sindh), in a highly publicised meeting on January 16.
However, the Sindh government managed to appoint at least one of its loyal SSPs in Malir and replace several SHOs, much to the dismay of the police and Ranger’s hierarchy.
Bone of contention:
Currently, the PPP’s elected representatives are at loggerheads – both overtly and covertly – with the men in uniform (of all shades) over appointments of police officials in Malir. The PPP simply wants to bring in its own DIG and other police officials into this district, where land encroachments, theft of sand and gravel and all sorts of crime dens offer a multi-million rupees worth daily racket in the form of bribes to the corrupt.
When so much is at stake, it is understandable that secondary issues of fighting crime and terrorism and the morale of the police force fail to appear on the radar of the provincial government. The chief minister and his team know which side of the bread is buttered. They have aligned their priorities with their lord and master.
Who is at fault?:
Let’s swallow this bitter fact that many of our elected ones have failed to learn any lesson from history. They tend to repeat the same old game, which landed them in trouble and tarnished and damaged the democratic forces so many times in the past. Civilian politicians, especially representing stakes and interests of the feudal class and the tribal elite, simply cannot resist the temptation of abusing power, bending rules and indulging in corruption. Despite being elected, they abhor acting in line with the democratic spirit, which blossoms on pluralism, playing by the book, and respect for the law.
And let’s admit that our men in uniform are not always on the wrong side of the fence. They do give sane advice to our elected representatives – in this case, it is not to play favourites in the police force and allow its leadership to decide transfers and postings.
This counsel is more pertinent in these present tough times when Karachi – despite the ongoing crackdown on criminals and terrorists – is again on the brink. Apart from the traditional ethnic, political and sectarian forces, which have a long history of indulging in violence and bloodletting, the Al-Qaeda-linked local Taliban have solidly entrenched themselves in many Pakhtun-dominated neighbourhoods of this city.
The Taliban militants are now making their presence felt here in more than one way. They have expanded their network in the country’s financial and industrial hub and are mobilising funds through a string of bank robberies, kidnapping people for ransom and extortion. According to the police, approximately 70 of its officials have been killed by the Taliban militants in the past year or so. Because of the indecisiveness of the federal government and the mantra of ‘peace talks’, these militants have increasingly been emboldened in recent weeks.
The irony is that the civilian leadership seems unable to grasp the gravity of the situation and continues to indulge in money-making ventures as if these are the normal times of yore. The killings and bloodshed hardly impact their lives.
In Karachi, the Taliban threat is very real, but the eyes of the provincial government leaders are set on appointing the handpicked police officers on coveted positions to serve their narrow vested interests. Agreed that in the police force of today no one can be branded holier than the other when it comes to corruption. Still, at a senior level, the team leader – in this case it is the additional IG Karachi – should be allowed to pick his team.
Ending political interference:
The recent rift over appointments in the Karachi Police brings an old issue to the forefront – freeing the police force from political interference. When police officers are hostage to the whims and wishes of ministers and political bosses, they can hardly perform their duty in an independent and impartial manner.
This is not the problem of the Sindh province alone, but of all of Pakistan. This institution needs to be freed from all sorts of political interference and must be autonomous and independent.
The barometer of political interference in Sindh police affairs can be gauged from the fact that in a little over a year’s time, Shahid Hayat Khan is the fifth officer to hold the position of Additional IG Karachi. Only one officer out of the last four before him managed to complete six months in the office.
Shahid Hayat, who was appointed on this position on Sept 12 last year, is himself struggling in the wake of bitter opposition from the political quarters. Even if he survives on this position, the Sindh government wants to make sure that he becomes as ineffective and toothless as possible. To achieve this goal, the Sindh government wants to bring PPP cronies on senior positions in the police force.
In this tussle, it is the men in uniform and not the PPP’s elected representatives, who are taking the right position.
The 2002 Police Order says that the cadre appointments in police should be for a three-year period, but the elected ones have again slapped the colonial era police system in its place. No wonder senior police officers manage to survive in their positions for barely three to six months, while the station house officers for less than two months on an average.
As things are moving, it is hardly expected of the PPP’s Sindh government to make the right choices of strengthening this key institution and framing laws to ensure independence and impartiality of the police force. Perhaps then we have to rely on the interference of the federal government and the behind-the-scenes advice and counsel of the men in uniform to keep the provincial government a little in line. At the same time, the media and the civil society have to make reforms and independence of police force their own cause.
Monday, January 20, 2014
The News
Our men in uniform are not always on the wrong side of the fence. They do give sane advice to our elected representatives – in this case, it is not to play favourites in the police force and allow its leadership to decide transfers and postings
The tussle between the Sindh government and top security officials over transfers and postings in Karachi Police is now an open secret. The provincial government wants to appoint favourites on ‘lucrative’ slots – a move that has strained its ties with many senior security officials and is seen as jeopardising the ongoing operation against criminals and terrorists in the megacity.
If the Pakistan People’s Party bosses could have their way, Karachi’s Additional IG Shahid Hayat Khan and all his DIGs would have long been sent packing. Many other ‘untrustworthy’ SSPs, SPs, DSPs and SHOs would also have been shunted to secondary positions to open way for the PPP loyalists.
The Sindh government’s most recent move to replace the Karachi DIGs came at a time when the police force was still attempting to recover from the shock of Chaudhry Aslam’s assassination in a massive suicide bomb attack on January 9.
“Even on the night of 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal (January 13-14), when we were busy with security arrangements, the PPP ministers were pushing for the replacement of DIGs”, a flabbergasted senior police official confided to this scribe. “When there is so much uncertainty and so much political interference, effective policing obviously becomes a more difficult job in a dangerous city like Karachi.”
It was nothing less than an intervention from the khakis that blocked the PPP provincial government’s push to place its men on senior police positions – at least for the time being. The concerns of the security officials were conveyed in a more matter of fact and terse manner to Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah by none other than Major General Rizwan Akhtar, the DG of Pakistan Rangers (Sindh), in a highly publicised meeting on January 16.
However, the Sindh government managed to appoint at least one of its loyal SSPs in Malir and replace several SHOs, much to the dismay of the police and Ranger’s hierarchy.
Bone of contention:
Currently, the PPP’s elected representatives are at loggerheads – both overtly and covertly – with the men in uniform (of all shades) over appointments of police officials in Malir. The PPP simply wants to bring in its own DIG and other police officials into this district, where land encroachments, theft of sand and gravel and all sorts of crime dens offer a multi-million rupees worth daily racket in the form of bribes to the corrupt.
When so much is at stake, it is understandable that secondary issues of fighting crime and terrorism and the morale of the police force fail to appear on the radar of the provincial government. The chief minister and his team know which side of the bread is buttered. They have aligned their priorities with their lord and master.
Who is at fault?:
Let’s swallow this bitter fact that many of our elected ones have failed to learn any lesson from history. They tend to repeat the same old game, which landed them in trouble and tarnished and damaged the democratic forces so many times in the past. Civilian politicians, especially representing stakes and interests of the feudal class and the tribal elite, simply cannot resist the temptation of abusing power, bending rules and indulging in corruption. Despite being elected, they abhor acting in line with the democratic spirit, which blossoms on pluralism, playing by the book, and respect for the law.
And let’s admit that our men in uniform are not always on the wrong side of the fence. They do give sane advice to our elected representatives – in this case, it is not to play favourites in the police force and allow its leadership to decide transfers and postings.
This counsel is more pertinent in these present tough times when Karachi – despite the ongoing crackdown on criminals and terrorists – is again on the brink. Apart from the traditional ethnic, political and sectarian forces, which have a long history of indulging in violence and bloodletting, the Al-Qaeda-linked local Taliban have solidly entrenched themselves in many Pakhtun-dominated neighbourhoods of this city.
The Taliban militants are now making their presence felt here in more than one way. They have expanded their network in the country’s financial and industrial hub and are mobilising funds through a string of bank robberies, kidnapping people for ransom and extortion. According to the police, approximately 70 of its officials have been killed by the Taliban militants in the past year or so. Because of the indecisiveness of the federal government and the mantra of ‘peace talks’, these militants have increasingly been emboldened in recent weeks.
The irony is that the civilian leadership seems unable to grasp the gravity of the situation and continues to indulge in money-making ventures as if these are the normal times of yore. The killings and bloodshed hardly impact their lives.
In Karachi, the Taliban threat is very real, but the eyes of the provincial government leaders are set on appointing the handpicked police officers on coveted positions to serve their narrow vested interests. Agreed that in the police force of today no one can be branded holier than the other when it comes to corruption. Still, at a senior level, the team leader – in this case it is the additional IG Karachi – should be allowed to pick his team.
Ending political interference:
The recent rift over appointments in the Karachi Police brings an old issue to the forefront – freeing the police force from political interference. When police officers are hostage to the whims and wishes of ministers and political bosses, they can hardly perform their duty in an independent and impartial manner.
This is not the problem of the Sindh province alone, but of all of Pakistan. This institution needs to be freed from all sorts of political interference and must be autonomous and independent.
The barometer of political interference in Sindh police affairs can be gauged from the fact that in a little over a year’s time, Shahid Hayat Khan is the fifth officer to hold the position of Additional IG Karachi. Only one officer out of the last four before him managed to complete six months in the office.
Shahid Hayat, who was appointed on this position on Sept 12 last year, is himself struggling in the wake of bitter opposition from the political quarters. Even if he survives on this position, the Sindh government wants to make sure that he becomes as ineffective and toothless as possible. To achieve this goal, the Sindh government wants to bring PPP cronies on senior positions in the police force.
In this tussle, it is the men in uniform and not the PPP’s elected representatives, who are taking the right position.
The 2002 Police Order says that the cadre appointments in police should be for a three-year period, but the elected ones have again slapped the colonial era police system in its place. No wonder senior police officers manage to survive in their positions for barely three to six months, while the station house officers for less than two months on an average.
As things are moving, it is hardly expected of the PPP’s Sindh government to make the right choices of strengthening this key institution and framing laws to ensure independence and impartiality of the police force. Perhaps then we have to rely on the interference of the federal government and the behind-the-scenes advice and counsel of the men in uniform to keep the provincial government a little in line. At the same time, the media and the civil society have to make reforms and independence of police force their own cause.
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