Supporting the dutiful

Fleeting moments

When the public rails against the slackness and inefficiency of many government departments, the Motorway Police stands out for its efficiency and professionalism.

Something happened seven months ago, but was reported recently. The Motorway Police fined the chairman of the NHA twice within 25 minutes      for over-speeding. This has further enhanced the image of the force. However, those who had dared to fine the chairman had to face the consequences of doing their duty. Ours may be one of the few countries where doing one’s professional duty has its pitfalls.

It so happened that motorway officials on duty flagged down a speeding SUV, without knowing it carried the chairman of the NHA, a VIP in his own right and in his own domain. Instead of stopping, the SUV sped on until it was again waved down to stop within the next 25 minutes for the same violation – speeding.

Visibly upset, the VIP paid the fine but not without giving a tongue-lashing to the officials on duty and ticking off one of them for not having shaved that morning. Before taking off again, the mighty chairman mockingly asked the lowly official to look up his face in the mirror. This was nothing short of pure hubris and VIP culture at display.

What would have happened if such an incident occurred, let’s say, in the UK? Nothing more than minor news appearing in the middle pages of newspapers, because fining politicians or ministers for speeding offences on the roads doesn’t attract much attention there. Nobody could have raised a finger on the police.

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson who visited this country recently is known for using a bicycle from home to parliament. As mayor of London, he regularly pedalled back and forth from home to his office. The prime minister of the Netherlands is another one who rides his bicycle from home to work. In these countries there is no pomp at public expense and no security cavalcades, a status symbol of VVIPs and their lesser variety in poor and under-developed countries.

The motorway running from Lahore to Peshawar is one sector where order prevails, unlike the roads elsewhere in the country. Your journey is largely safe, predictable, and enjoyable, especially on the stretch through the Salt Range. The Motorway Police helps maintain it. The BBC once commended this force for its professional standards. Foreigners who happen to travel on the motorway speak very well of the Motorway Police for maintaining road safety and discipline on the highway.

However, on the complaint of the NHA chairman, the Motorway Department transferred the officials who had fined the NHA boss; they were transferred from Swabi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Gwadar in Balochistan. It couldn’t have been nearer.

This clearly shows how the department, instead of standing behind its own people, decided to punish them for doing their duty. Having lost hope, the suffering officials approached the Federal Services Tribunal, which set aside their orders of transfer. The matter should have ended there but it didn’t.

The Motorway Department moved the case to the Supreme Court against the orders of the FST. The top men in the NHA and in the Motorway Police Department joined hands to make an example of the lower-ranked officials in the department so that no one in future dares to check speeding VIPs.

They say the fish always begins to rot from its head. Similarly, the rot in our public-sector departments sets in from the top and travels downward. There’s a growing feeling among the public that rules are only meant for the weak and not for the powerful and well connected. But it should be a good idea to issue special permits to VIPs to over speed in their chauffeured limos on the highways. They can even go on to break the sound barrier – as long as they leave the hapless lowly officials of the Motorway Police on their own.

The writer is a freelance columnist based in Lahore.  Email: pinecity@gmail.com