The Broken Policing System
Let’s talk about the issue people rarely discuss these days, the corrupt police in Pakistan. If you’ve never heard a case regarding the distrusted and incompetent police force, then you’ve been living under the rock this whole time. First off, let me shed some light on the case Shahbaz. On July 12th, 2010 Shahbaz aged 24, was killed by the police. They differ upon the conditions where he was killed and the reasons, they shot him. As per his father Allah Rahka, Shahbaz was unarmed and the police shot him without a second thought. According to the police they were pursuing criminal suspects and discharged in self-defense after Shahbaz shot at them. It’s been over six year and that father still seeks justice for his son. A part of Allah Rakha’s statement is, “There are many other witnesses to his killing… Not only have the police killed my son, they have also sullied his name by making it seem as if he was a criminal. He was not a criminal.”
Do you see the problem here? There was a lack of accountability in this situation. Police force of Pakistan is the most feared and least trusted institution. This is just one example, there are numerous cases related to police injustice, extrajudicial killings of criminal suspects, torment of prisoners to get confessions, and provocation and blackmail of people who try to record criminal cases, particularly against individuals from the security powers. They can even register false cases and make arbitrary arrests. Some people say that police has threatened them to not complaint about the police abuse or they will lodge false cases against them.
Recently, there was a case of Salahuddin Ayubi who was caught stealing from ATM. He was arrested by the Punjab Police but what saddens me here is he was brutally tortured to death. And guess what? The Pakistan Constitution does not allow the use of torture to get the evidence.
Most of the time district-level police are under the influence of powerful politicians, and other influential individuals of society. They are given exceptional rights and a different lawful structure that shields them from the prosecution. They are open to do anything, and no one can say anything to them. It’s really sad to see that people who took oath to help and serve the people are engaged in such activities that only benefits them. By what it seems to me is Pakistan’s police system is way worse than we care to admit, and it needs a radical change.