Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police in hot water after fresh incidents

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police force is in hot water after recent incidents of abuse of power by some officers.

The police are being criticised for ‘insulting’ a lawmaker and using force against university teachers staging a protest for acceptance of their demands in Peshawar.

The force was already under fire since the emergence of Amir of Tehkal case in which he was tortured and the alleged suicide by a student in the lock-up of the West Cantonment Police Station a few months ago.

Right from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to the social media forums, the police force was under criticism after humiliation and torture on two policemen from Bajaur who were accompanying a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member of the KP Assembly, Ajmal Khan, as his gunmen.

The outcry increased a day later when teachers of various universities were tortured and humiliated after they blocked roads while protesting against the cut in salaries and other issues for the last many months.

A source said there were already plans by the politicians and the bureaucracy to keep a check on the Central Police Office and others by setting up an independent Inspectorate at the Home Department.

The plan included bringing the Special Branch, an intelligence wing of the police, under the chief minister instead of the IGP.

A committee has already been constituted for the purpose that is finalising things.

The plan was initiated after the humiliation of Amir of Tehkal by the cops. He was arrested and abused by the police officers. The video of the incident went viral on social media.

Another incident happened when a teenage student committed suicide in the lock-up of the West Cantonment Police Station despite claims by the bosses that a monitoring mechanism through CCTV has been established to stop torture in custody.

There seemed no or very little resistance from the police officers in the KP to the setting up of the Inspectorate and amending the KP Police Act.

The plan is likely to be expedited after the two recent incidents that were highlighted not only on social media but even in the KP Assembly.

Ajmal Khan, a lawmaker from Bajaur, took up the issue first with the provincial government and later in the assembly when he and his gunmen were insulted by the station house officer and cops of the Khazana Police Station in Peshawar.

The lawmaker on the floor of the house said SHO Ibad Wazir, who came in a private car and civvies, insulted and tortured his guards, who were also policemen from Bajaur. He said he was coming to Peshawar in his official car along with family when the incident happened.

The MPA said the SHO threatened him with dire consequences and even said he was not afraid of being suspended.

The policemen in Bajaur removed their badges and announced they will wear uniforms of Levies as a mark of protest against the torture on their two colleagues.

The matter angered the chief minister who rushed to the Khazana Police Station after the incident. The SHO was suspended and an inquiry ordered.

The incident happened during a campaign launched by the KP and Peshawar Police against the individuals who are roaming with several escort cars and many gunmen to spread terror in the society.

Some SHOs, however, started action even against those who had authorised guards and weapons and needed security due to threats to their life.

Many believe this was done by the field officers either to damage the campaign or they were not properly briefed that the drive was only against criminals.

After MPA Ajmal Khan, other lawmakers in KP Assembly demanded an end to such behaviour by certain SHOs as well as senior and junior officers who have no respect for the public and even public representatives.

The lawmakers from treasury and opposition parties were unanimous that the bosses of the KP and Peshawar Police failed to keep a check on juniors who are frequently abusing powers by humiliating the general public.

Provincial minister Kamran Bangash said he sought apology from the MPA on what happened to him in presence of the family.

After a few such incidents last year, the government planned clipping powers of the force given to the cops in the KP Police Act 2017.

Under the plan, the government is going to amend the law and make the senior police officers answerable to an Inspectorate.

The act had regional complaint authority and public safety commissions with representation from elected people for accountability of the force at provincial, regional and district level. The bodies could not be notified.

Despite claims of reforms in the force in recent years, the police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the rest of the country still need much improvement to treat everyone, particularly the innocent people with respect.

A number of reforms were introduced in the KP Police since 2013 that helped improve its performance. For a couple of years, the dealing with the public also improved for some time while the level of corrupt practices and misuse of power went down when a large number of cops were sacked and thousands were punished. But things started deteriorating again.

Complaints increased about the poor treatment of the accused and innocent people in the lock-ups, the humiliation of the public at police checkposts and even at their homes during search operations in the last few years.

A source said there were cops who might be brave in raids and actions against criminals but they proved to be poor managers when posted to head a police station, a subdivision or a division.

Many believe this is the failure of the bosses if they can’t find and post SHOs, SDPOs and SPs on merit and provide them basic facilities for improving the law and order situation.

The SHOs must be provided all the facilities, funds, official cars, stationery and fuel for improved and effective patrolling and maintaining law and order.

Many experts believe the SHOs must be educated and are posted purely on merit while keeping in view their previous record, while moharir should also be a graduate SI who can better perform the duty as acting SHO in the absence of his boss. They need to be better-trained in lower, intermediate and upper courses and should know how to be a good manager and deal decently with the public at the police station, checkpost or during search operations.