Tool of repression

THE International Crisis Group in its latest report has drawn a parallel between successive Pakistani governments, both civil and military, for using the police as a tool to crush dissent and curb political opponents. Referring to the police as a repressive tool, the report traces its history as a coercive instrument of the state back to the Ayub era. The phenomenon became even more widespread when Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto recruited officials of various ranks in the civil service and police administration on political basis, besides raising the Federal Security Force just to intimidate opponents.
Zia followed suit and so did Ms Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif. Bent upon undermining each other, their governments politicised the police further. Even though the PPP’s previous governments deserve credit for reforming the police procedures with regard to gender-related violence, the party made large-scale recruitments in the force in Sindh on political considerations. This was also carried out in the Punjab during Mian Nawaz’s two tenures as chief minister. The ICG rightly described the Police Order 2002 as ‘dysfunctional reform’ and attributed its failure to the PML(Q) government, which gave important postings to police officers on the basis of their loyalty to the ruling leadership rather than professional competence. Some of the brilliant officers were confined to the Central Police Office either because they did not have any political backing or were not prepared to carry out illegal orders like implicating opposition members in criminal cases.
There is no doubt that effective policing requires drastic changes in the Police Order 2002, as indicated by the IG Punjab in his recent interview with this newspaper. But if the present regime is serious about improving the deteriorating law and order situation, it must let the police perform its actual task of controlling crime, rather than using it to intimidate political opponents.