Burdened by history, Pakistan

By Muhammad Najeeb, Islamabad: Long accused of being highly corrupt and wantonly violating human rights and governed by a 150-year-old law, Pakistani police are going in for an overhaul.

For the proposed reforms, the Asian Development Bank has issued a grant of $1 million. Initially this will be used to make the police in four districts of Punjab - Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Gujrat - a model force.

According to plans, all police stations in the four districts will be fitted with computers to register every complaint - and investigation. The police force will also launch a website for access to public-related information.

"The police would be modernized and trained in crime detection on the pattern of developed countries," Assistant Inspector General of Punjab Police Syed Azhar Nadeem told IANS.

Global Positioning System (GPS) has already been installed in the four districts to monitor policemen on field duty. Cameras are coming up at 18 police stations in Multan to monitor how policemen behave with the public.

Although successive governments have taken steps to improve the image of the police, it has not made any substantial difference. The Pakistan police are still governed by the Police Act of 1861 - a British relic.

The last amendment to the Police Act by President Pervez Musharraf in 2002 sought to separate investigation from other functions such as crime control and prevention.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), there has been a marked increase in police excesses in recent years.

Reports of serious violations of citizens' rights continue to mount - from harassment to extortion, midnight raids, arrests and detentions without warrants, fake police gun battles and custodial killings.

There have even been instances of "criminal elements" within the police forcing their way into people's homes at unearthly hours with the intent to rape, abduct or rob innocent citizens.

Last year an HRCP report found the police the most corrupt force in Pakistan. Others have described Pakistani policemen as unfriendly and dishonest.

Nadeem said: "In crime detection new investigation methods will be adopted."

The Police Act, he said, was introduced by the British to tighten their grip on India and that was why there was a wide gap between the police and the public.

But this gap had to be bridged and "policing with consent" was the mantra Pakistan would follow.

"Community policing needs to be strengthened as this is the only way to check crime," Nadeem said.

But few people think things are really going to change.

Afshan Qureshi, a lawyer who provides legal aid against police excesses, said mere installation of cameras could not help.

"The police need to be overhauled from top to bottom. Corruption needs to be uprooted. The police culture is 140 years old, they are trained to treat people like animals," Quereshi told IANS.

"I understand there are problems for police. They are used by influential people, are poorly paid and there are absolutely no budgets for police stations. But that doesn't mean that the police can do whatever they want."

Qureshi said the monthly stationery budget for each police station was just Pakistani Rs.600 ($10). "There is absolutely no money to buy food for people arrested and lodged in police stations," she said.

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NewKerala.com - Ernakulam, Ker12 January 2006

Burdened by history, Pakistan

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NewKerala.com - Ernakulam, Ker
12 January 2006