Scores of people brutally beat to death two young brothers, Hafiz Mughees, 15, and Hafiz Muneeb, 19, while senior police officials in Sialkot, Pakistan, stood by and watched silently. Their limp bodies were later hanged in a public square.
Like in prior lynchings in other parts of the country, there have been usual expressions of horror and statements of sympathy for the victims in this most recent crime. Even the the chief justice of the supreme court of Pakistan has taken suo moto actions as he has many times in the past.
Such cases of public brutality, lawlessness and police misconduct are all too common in Pakistan. And the usual condemnations followed by no serious action on the badly needed police reform ensure that murders of innocent people and growing lawlessness continue unabated.
"The Contours of Police Integrity" by Carl Klockars, et al, talks about the lack of professionalism among Pakistani police officials as follows:
"The causes of police misconduct in Pakistani society are deeply embedded in the country's socioeconomic and political structure. To begin with, the society is highly tolerant of corruption in general, as indicated by Transparency International....A police officer is expected to posses a high degree of intelligence and the interpersonal skills required to exercise in enforcing the law. However, the level required of the constables, who (together with head constables) comprise 89% of the police force (Chaudhry, 1997, p. 101), is matriculation or even less. Such educational requirements have created a situation in which the majority of the police force have a low level of education. The education of a typical constable can not support the the demands of the job; the constable is therefore someone who is trained to serve as a mechanical functionary obeying the orders of those more senior rather than an officer using personal judgment to solve policing issues....Both police officers' importance as members of government apparatus and their influence as a result of their estimated illegal income make policing such an attractive profession that people are willing to pay any price to get their dear ones positions in the police force. Politicians attach such importance to police service that even the members of National Assembly get their close relatives (such as sons and brothers) inducted into the police service as deputy superintendent of police-by direct notification of the prime minister and without any exam or procedure."
In what Newsweek recently called "transfer industry" in South Asia, the bribe-rich police precincts ( called thanas) in Pakistan are "sold" to the highest bidder to become the station house officer (SHO or thanedar), who then has a "license" to recoup what the appointee paid and make additional "profit" for himself and his superiors. Such appointments encourage continuing massive corruption and incompetence in the police departments.
The fact is that a large number of police officers are recruited because of their political connections rather than their competence. It is hard to expect such a police force to be either professional or competent, as has been demonstrated time and again in a recent spate of violence, including political assassinations such as Benazir Bhutto's.
Ironically, the first serious police reform effort since independence was launched during the Musharraf years in Pakistan. It was praised by G.P Joshi of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative in the following words:
While being ironic, it was also an encouraging step forward in the history of policing when the democratic government of Pakistan drafted the Police Ordinance in 2001 to repeal the archaic Police Act of 1861, thus stealing a march over other democratic regimes in the region in attempting to change a deeply entrenched police system.
Even after independence, countries in the South Asian region have been unable to rid themselves of past colonial legacies, which is much reflected in their outdated Police Acts. Sporadic attempts to catalyze a change in the system have met stiff resistance. In India, recommendations made by the National Police Commission (NPC) set up in 1977 to insulate the police from outside illegitimate control fell on deaf ears. These included establishment of State Security Commission; abolition of the system of dual control at the district level; selection of the head of the state police force on the recommendations of a committee; giving him/her a fixed minimum secure tenure and transfers to be done according to rules by prescribed authorities.
As per its Preamble, the draft Pakistan Police Ordinance 2001 is aimed at organizing a police system, which is independently controlled, politically neutral, non-authoritarian, people friendly and professionally efficient. Even though the text of the 2001 Ordinance has been significantly altered since then, first by the Police Order of 2002 and then by the Police Order (Amendment) Ordinance of 2004, the initiative still retains a fairly good blueprint for police reforms. It is as of now referred to as the Police Order 2002.
The police reforms initiated by Musharraf were applauded, even embraced briefly by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif until it caught the eye of the Musharraf critics. The draft of Pakistan Police Ordinance 2001 was aimed at organizing a police system, which is independently controlled, politically neutral, non-authoritarian, people friendly and professionally efficient. Even though the text of the 2001 Ordinance has been significantly altered since then, first by the Police Order of 2002 and then by the Police Order (Amendment) Ordinance of 2004, the initiative still retains a fairly good blueprint for police reforms. It is as of now referred to as the Police Order 2002. Unfortunately, there has been no progress on it in the last few years.
If Pakistan's chief justice and other officials are serious about establishing rule of law in the country, it is absolutely essential for them to ensure serious police reforms to build a professional police force that enforces laws without fear or favor.
Haq's Musings: Lynchings in Sialkot Reinforce Need For Police Reform