An inquiry into the situation is bringing to surface certain hard to believe facts. Officers belonging to police and other law enforcing agencies and responsible for maintaining peace are misusing their authority to do some overtime job to earn more bucks.

A very influential and important senior superintendent of police (SSP) who climbed to this position through out of turn promotions, is performing his official duties only in name. In fact he is a big arms and ammunition dealer in the city and also owns a big security agency.

His showroom of most modern arms, ammunition and allied equipment is situated in the Khadda Market of the posh Defence Phase V. Although arms and ammunition from such shops with blazing sign board made on the pattern of stills of western thrillers, or inspired by the exciting and popular TV crime movies is sold only to those in possession of licence, still those connected with this business know better and can tell what is done and what can be done in the garb of this business.

It is an open secret that in order to evade the clutches of law and avoid departmental action, government officials and influential personalities do not operate such business in their own names but in the name of some member of the family or in the name of most dependable friends. Following this pattern, this particular SSP is running the business in the name of his brother. Most of the time of this officer is spent not in performance of his official duties but in planning to maximise the sale and delivery of arms and ammunition to citizens.

The despicable game of blood and death has been played in a most organised manner in the city for the past many years. Politicians and leaders of public opinion have been emphasising to make Karachi an arms-free city. Under what legal or moral justification this officer, who should be responsible for law and order in the city, is selling explosives to the citizens; is beyond comprehension. The most tragic aspect of the episode is that no one is bothered to ask him about his activities.

The shop of this SSP is running for a pretty long time and during this period he has been heading the most important departments of police and in a crackdown against terrorists, his staff has recovered arms and ammunition in sizable quantities. How can one believe this officer who is avowedly dishonest with his duty and disloyal to his official assignments that the costly arms recovered from terrorists are not sold from his shop, or are not still being sold? Moreover it is hard to imagine how many rules and regulations would have been violated to expand this business.

The said SSP was inducted into police out of the quota of a political party, but now he is the henchman of another political party. He established a security agency in the name of his son. Using his personal connections, he has got guards of the agency posted in different private concerns/organisations. Arms to these guards also are supplied from his shop.

This officer with a salary of 15-20 thousand rupees in the year 2000, has got accelerated promotions in the last four years and made property worth crores of rupees. He got police jobs for a number of his kin and brothers of his wives. How come that a police officer has become owner of assets worth billions of rupees? Sensitive agencies, NAB and Anti-Corruption Establishment have concentrated on this case but through a mysterious glint (‘chamak’) they are always forced to look the other way.

Citizens may be very right in their objections to the police performance, but the question remains that with paltry amount as salary, which policeman would endanger his life by confronting mafias? Why should they launch operation against target killers? Why should they apprehend extortion mafia? Why should they handcuff those engaged in kidnap for ransom. Why should they be bothered about those subjected to target killing or about the poor who become victims of street crimes? It is all the same for them whether they are on duty or under suspension. Why should they abandon business of millions being a high police official? To roll in millions and having the best of both the worlds is perhaps said about men of this ilk.