Claims of reforms fail to rein in Punjab Police brutalities

Custodial deaths, torture and illegal private cells are no longer a secret


Muhammad Shahzad September 16, 2019
PHOTO: FILE

LAHORE: Public outcry over the use of brutal force against citizens is probably frustrating the Punjab police commanders as well as the provincial government.

It was evident from the steps taken during the last few weeks. The debate in political circles has focused on another massive reshuffle in the Punjab police command and control.

On the other hand, the steps taken by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Captain (retd) Arif Nawaz, including banning the use of smartphones in police stations, were nothing but a way to sweep the brutalities under the carpet and cover up the heinous crimes committed by the so-called ‘defenders of the law’.

What IGP Nawaz has done so far to stop such cases include the installation of CCTV cameras in lock-ups, announcing ‘action’ against field officers where such cases are reported, surprise visits at police stations by senior officials and inspection by SP internal accountability of each district.

None of the aforementioned measures, both by the political government and the police top brass, were new and failed to reshape the workings of the police department.

Tumultuous week for Punjab police

Among all the modern investigation techniques that exist the world over, the Punjab police find the use of torture as the sole effective method. This has been the norm of the police department since its inception under British colonisers in the 1860s. The Punjab police is still so ‘loyal’ to the techniques of the ‘masters’ that people die in lock-ups and postmortem reports fail to find torture marks on the bodies of victims.

Despite spending millions of rupees on mere efforts of the so-called reforms, the department is rife with incidents of the use of brutal force for policing which was the hallmark of the British Raj centuries ago. Custodial deaths, torture and illegal private cells are no longer a secret; neither to the public nor to police officers.

The custodial death of Salahuddin at the hands of Rahim Yar Khan police has highlighted the issue for public debate at a national level. But what police high-ups did was to shift the case from Rahim Yar Khan to the provincial capital and ban the use of smartphones in police stations so that no such incident could be leaked again.

When it comes to the origin of the problem, they are searching for ‘unseen hands’ behind all this ‘propaganda’ - the usual conspiracy theory approach behind state institutions whenever something went out of their control.

Reforms in police dept vital: Punjab CM

Almost every presser by the police department mentions reforms that do not seem to be materialising any time soon.

In its rhetoric as part of its election manifesto and political agenda, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been talking about police reforms. But the inability of the PTI government to come up to the expectations of the people has only added fuel to the fire.

In such a scenario, the steps being taken at the optimum level regarding police reforms were problematic. All these steps mean nothing more than superficial measures and beating about the bush because it failed to address the root cause.

The three main challenges in the working of the police department included a lack of resources, a lack of capacity, structural flaws in the organogram and laws ruling the department as well the entire criminal justice system.

It is no secret that the police lacked resources whether it is stationery for use by the head clerk, furniture to sit on for complainants or fuel for patrolling vehicles.

It is also a reality that the modern means of policing - the methods of the investigation in particular which form the core of policing, were still alien concepts at a grass root level.

Thirdly, a sense of impunity prevailed in general in the police and in particular at officers’ level (PSP class). Officers would claim and often quote their department awarded punishments to its staff the most. However, they would be unable to quote a single example where a PSP was held accountable.

Colonial era’s penal codes, that at a number of times deviated from protecting the liberties of citizens, and the corrupt and ineffective judicial system cannot be ignored when it comes to reforming the police.

To cut it short, the demand for police reforms is genuine and not a conspiracy which need to address the root cause and not be focused only on makeshift arrangements.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16th, 2019.

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