Security situation in Sindh worsens despite operation

ISLAMABAD: The law and order situation deteriorated in Sindh in 2014 as compared with other provinces and Karachi continues to be the flashpoint as incidents of murders and extortion registered an increase, Sindh Rangers/police operation notwithstanding.
A city of 20 million, Karachi has a police force of 26, 504 policeman - one for 850 citizens compared to Lahore - one policeman for 335 citizens.“The year-long operation has not resulted in substantial decrease in murders and target killings despite an unprecedented number of criminals and suspects being killed in encounters,” according to a PILDAT report authored by Tariq Khosa, a retired police officer.
The report “Police, politics and the people of Pakistan,” is a damning indictment of successive governments whose political interests preceded the concerns of public safety culminating in the loss of public trust in the state’s capacity to establish its writ.
The report has chronicled the lack of political will spanning decades as Pakistan shuttled between military and civilians regimes. If any effort to reform police was made during President Pervez Musharraf’s rule, the rot followed in the same regime for the sake of political expediency.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s government in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa is the only exception that de-politicised the police by giving a free hand to the provincial police chief who has introduced radical reforms to regain public confidence.
The report has also recorded improvement in the police-administered jurisdiction of Balochistan that forms only five percent area of the province though. The role of Chief Minister Dr. Abdul Malik in decreasing political interference and allocating huge resources for the capacity building of police has also been acknowledged in the report.
However, the fact remains that previous provincial government of Balochistan had reversed police reforms like Sindh, through unconstitutional means by benefiting the ambiguity created after 18th amendment.
The Police Order 2002 was placed in schedule six of the Constitution and couldn’t be altered, repealed or amended without the approval of the President that is accorded after consultation with the Prime Minister, Tariq Khosa argues.
Mapping crime situation province-wise, the report has raised alarms about the worsening security order in Sindh, one of the most notorious provinces for poor governance. While incidents of murders and extortions spiked in Karachi, incidents of robberies have increased all over the province.
Since the launch of the operation in September 2013 and up to November 2014, the report said, 1317 murders were committed in Karachi as against 1094 such cases in the corresponding period of previous year, an increase of 223 cases of homicide with an average of three murders a day in this biggest city of Pakistan.
In Karachi’s context alone, robberies did not come down either. As many as 2095 incidents were reported during the operation till November 2014 compared to 1246 in the corresponding period of previous year.
In 2189 encounters, 641 criminals were killed during the operation as against 148 killings in 1458 encounters in the previous year. Kidnapping-for-ransom cases have reduced only marginally as 95 cases were reported as against 109 in the last year.
“Extortions and ‘bhatta’ still flourish: 445 cases against 224, indicating an increase of 221 cases,” according to the report. In terms of police martyrs, 140 policemen including an SP laid down their lives in 2014 up to November while an unusually large number of casualties (171) occurred in 2013.
In overall Sindh, 3010 murders were committed as against 3473 in 2013. However, the fact remains that there are about 10 murders daily on average in the province. Kidnapping-for-ransom marginally decreased but robberies have increased.
Police encounters are aplenty and in some cases citizens accused of minor offences at other places are handed over to Sindh police for killing in ‘encounters’.
This correspondent is aware of an instance where a poor citizen of Punjab who had a court marriage with the daughter of an influential person was implicated in a fabricated offence by Islamabad police and later handed over to a police officer posted in interior Sindh for elimination in an ‘encounter’. It is another story that the plan was shelved as the media confronted the concerned police officer after getting wind of the matter.
As for as Punjab is concerned, cases of blasphemy against religious minorities and sectarian killing strengthened the impression that PML-N government was soft on terrorists. However, heinous crimes went down in 2014 compared to 2013. There were 4989 murders in 2014 against 5350 in 2013; 4025 robberies as against 4292; 163 cases of kidnapping for ransom as against 206. However, the police encounters increased like Sindh.
Khosa has paid a rich tribute to the KP government for appointing an able and professional police chief. “By a stroke of luck, clever personal diplomacy or through a spirit of political accommodation, the PTI leadership was able to get an outstanding police officer from Punjab. This was a PML-N loss in Punjab and certainly a PTI gain in the KP,” he writes.
Given the operational autonomy, the report says, the KP police has been able to make substantial reforms and also carried out strict internal accountability as well as improved the law and order in general.
About Balochistan police, the report said that although they had limited domain of urban pockets only, some breakthroughs and results reflect positive trends. In 2014, 169 cases of terrorism/sabotage were recorded as compared to 276 cases in 2013; 69 cases of target killings as against 95; 44 cases of kidnapping for ransom as against 67; and 39 cases of car snatching as against 62 in 2013.
Apart from sustained improvements in law and order, Balochistan police with the support of the provincial government is pursuing reform agenda such as revamping CID, police training college, establishment of anti-terrorism force, training and capacity building including provision of arms and ammunitions.
Despite resource constraints, Balochistan government has allocated one billion rupees for effective revamping and merit-based recruitment in police.
“There is very little political interference ... and this because the two IGPs during the tenure of the present chief minister so far were given free hand ...... He is facing the political heat for trying to promote good governance,” writes Khosa who has served as police chief of Balochistan.