Competing over incompetence

This refers to the news report, ‘CM blames ECP for LG polls mess’ (June 20). The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM defended his ‘model’ police on the floor of the assembly, saying the polls were beyond the control of the police and blamed the ECP for the mayhem – even accusing it of fanning propaganda against his government. We should know that propaganda/counterpropaganda cannot be substitutes for good statecraft (good governance). The fact is that KP’s much-buoyed ‘model’ police failed the test and that, too, miserably in the LG polls.
However, they are not alone. Look at the recent failures of the Punjab police: their inept handling of the Model Town massacre, the Lahore church blasts or the mayhem of the Mandi Bahauddin election to name a few. The police in our four federating units seem to be competing on inefficiency and mismanagement.
Malik Asif Khan
Islamabad