Police Reforms

Publisher and Managing Editor IKRAM SEHGAL wrote an article on POLICE REFORMS for the NATION which DJ is re-producing with thanks.

The deterioration of law and order in Pakistan to the point of virtual anarchy is mainly because of the rank ineffectiveness of the prime law enforcement agency of the country, the police service. This state of affairs is the culmination of many inadequacies, e.g. bad pay and service conditions, politicisation and nepotism in recruitment, recruitment of inferior manpower, lack of training, lack of education, promotion without merit, etc all resulting in corruption across the board. The laundry list of wrongs is quite long, along with economic apocalypse it spells doom and disaster. Police Stations (Thanas)  should have been an oasis for citizens to reach out to solve their security problems, they have become such dens of evil that they breed insecurity among common citizens  who stay clear of them unless there is no other choice. Obviously this has affected society adversely, leading to a breakdown of the fabric that binds citizens within a moral plane of positive co-existence within the laws of the land. That is what civilisation is all about and we in Pakistan are very close to a rapid descent into the laws of the jungle.

That police reforms are necessary in the face of decades of neglect nobody doubts. We are prisoners of the Police Act of 1861, reports of commissions after commissions have become historical record, figuratively consigned to the waste paper basket. To break the logjam the “Focal Group on Police Reforms” was convened by the Federal Minister of Interior, Lt Gen Moinuddin Haider and did just that in the space of a few crucial weeks in January and February this year, producing a workable document after an intense debate that was high on intellectual content as well as long on the pragmatism required to effect meaningful change. Instead of getting bogged down in endless theoretical discourse as had previous Commissions, the Focal Group concentrated on macro-reforms to set in place an institutional process that would by its very existence effect meaningful micro-reforms. The Focal Group consisted of academics, mediamen, lawyers, senior bureaucrats and police officers, both serving and retired. They were drawn from all the Provinces and brought to the table years of knowledge and experience as well as a positive feel for the need for change. Change cannot be brought about without making  someone unhappy somewhere, however the discussions were marked by a positive inclination to go for consensus rather than let the brute force of an  outright majority make for an aggrieved minority. There was a marked absence of both vested interest as well as mutual acrimony that is the hallmark of such discussions.  The process thus ensured that a wide range of diverse opinion was accommodated.

Vested political and bureaucratic pressures was identified as the main culprit and the only way to free the public of such pressures was to remove them from political and bureaucratic control. Obviously the politicians were not represented in the Focal Group but there was unanimous agreement that politicisation of the police was the major contributor (and the last straw) towards its destruction as a credible guarantor of law and order. A need was felt for “independent public safety commissions” at various levels, staffed by credible people of stature and maturity. The criteria was given for the selection of personnel but the recommendations for the non-political persons was mostly left to the politicians in a check and balance procedure. The senior bureaucrats present were not easily convinced about the need for a Commission independent of bureaucratic control and had to be persuaded that this was in the interest of both society and the nation as a whole. To be fair to them  the arguments they raised were cogent and it did take a fair bit of debate to satisfy their fears. Their reasoning was coalesced positively because of the national requirement for positive change, one must give them great credit for not falling prey to the temptation of obstructing the process in the face of the national good.  Thereafter the working paper spelled out  the parameters and mandate of the independent public safety commissions, the selection of its members, criteria, etc at the national, provincial and metropolitan levels, was fairly easy to draft. The working paper having been agreed upon by the Focal Group, it was decided that in all fairness  various forums should give their input, these included the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) and the various Provincial Governments. Simultaneously “roadshows” were to be held in all the Provincial capitals so that the citizens (the stakeholders) would have an open and public opportunity to express their opinion about the reforms proposed by the Focal Group.

All the Provincial Governments (except Sindh) were very supportive of the process and in every capital, very lively debate took place,  more about the necessity for micro reforms than having any exception to the reforms proposed. It was clear that the Sindh Governor, Air Marshal (Retd) Azim Daudpota did not have much clue about  the very basics of the arguments. His proposal to try metropolitan police in a small city instead of a big city like Karachi before bringing it to Karachi was counter-productive to the very logic of the proposal, it is mind-boggling that this otherwise good man should be put in charge of this crucial Province at the critical juncture of our history. On the other hand very persuasive arguments were raised by the senior bureaucrats of Sindh Province who were present and it would be wise to take cognisance of their reservations and to address them so that the final document is reflective of all concerns. Attending the “stakeholders” meeting in the Crystal Ballroom of the Marriott in Karachi on March 4, 2000 one was struck by the enthusiasm of the citizens who were participating. The mood of the public was infectious, they were almost unanimously agitated as to why it was not being implemented sooner. Certain excellent suggestions were made, particularly pertaining to fears about police attitude towards women as well as countering this by active participation of women in police services. No self-respecting lady goes presently to a Thana to lodge a complaint. One must also say here that the Federal Minister, Lt Gen (Retd) Moinuddin Haider’s performance in developing public consensus was nothing short of brilliant. Those who attended the closed door briefings with the Provincial Governments had a similar observation, this man passionately believes in change and in the changes proposed. He is also very articulate in presenting his views. Having remained a very successful Governor of Sindh his experience counts, that was a huge plus point for the Focal Group’s presentations.

If the police are to be taken out from the control of the politicians and the District Management Group (DMG), a whole system for positive development of an effective infra-structure has to be introduced. We cannot afford a vacuum in the context of law and order. Even after 50 years of existence there is no process of proper recruitment, training, career planning, promotion on merit, etc, it is unbelievable that no institutional framework exists. Not only are the pay and service conditions of the police atrocious, they are meagre enough to be tailor-made for promoting corruption. On what are they supposed to exist? The police are not to blame, the present system is. Above all, the police  were responsible (in turn) to the politicians and bureaucrats for upholding the rule of law rather than the public, whereas the correct thing is that the police should be responsible only to the rule of law, irrespective of the government, politicians, bureaucrats or the general public. However there is a major questionmark about making the police independent under the tutelage of the public safety commissions. When these people could not be controlled by government after government, civil and military, what does one expect to happen? Could we well be creating another monster? One must be clear that the rule of law is very clear about extra-judicial killings, anyone who took part in this (or was in the chain of command) is tainted and must never be allowed near police uniform, what to talk about being in the proximity of these public safety commissions. A criminal is a criminal (in or out of uniform) and extra-judicial killing is just a polite expression for murder in the eyes of the law. There is always the possibility of such people taking control of this new mechanism, we would then be in a worse situation than we are now.

Police reforms on the lines proposed by the Focal Group, with necessary checks and balances, are necessary and speedily at that. Civilised society cannot afford to delay the process any further. A comprehensive macro-reform is now on the anvil, the military regime has a unique chance to change the quality of life of all our citizens by implementing the recommendations of the Focal Group on Police Reforms sooner rather than later (the writer is one of the members of the Focal Group on Police Reforms).