Police: how many should die?

[VetDoctor]

Police: how many should die?
Imran Khan

In the aftermath of the Dera Ismail Khan jailbreak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Minister for Revenue and Estate Ali Amin Khan Gandapur visited the jail. Talking to reporters, he expressed his frustration with both the army and the police.
He began by pointing out that, despite the presence of two brigades in the D I Khan cantonment, the army did not engage the terrorists. On this, the minister decently expressed some “tahafuzaat” (reservations).
But then he turned his attention towards the police, and out come accolades such as “nikamay”, “nikhatu”, and “buzdil”. The good minister seemed disgusted with the fact that only five policemen were martyred, since body counts of “at least 50 if not 100” are decent estimates of bravery. This disgust for the police and respectful grumbles for the army is something not particular to Gandapur. It reflects the mindset of this nation. From political talk shows to comedy stage shows, castigation and ridicule of our police is the norm.
Those justifying this discrimination do it by declaring the police to be corrupt, and therefore less respectable than the army. But scandals like the NLC scam refute the myth of an incorruptible army. Furthermore, our three military dictatorships can be accredited with most if not all of the problems we face today. The effects of police bribery seem minor when compared with this.
But blaming the army as a whole is deemed offensive, because an institution should not be blamed for the deeds of some individuals. After all, Ziaul Haq and Major Aziz Bhatti Shaheed were two completely different people. One was a traitor, while the other a martyr.
And I agree that, while no institution should be above accountability, generalisations based on uniforms are unfair. Our army is composed of far too many patriots than those who exploit the leverage associated with their uniform. The ultimate proof of their patriotism is a willingness to embrace martyrdom and a long list of those who already have.
But then how is our police force any different? Has it not offered its own martyrs? Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s police alone has a list of more than 1000 in the last 10 years. Add to this figure those from other provinces and you have many more.
Police constables across Pakistan man checkpoints knowing very well that the next driver might be a suicide bomber. Many of us today owe our lives to a split-second decision of some brave police martyr who chose country over life. How is this display of patriotism any different from that of the soldiers who man our borders?
Names like Malik Saad Shaheed, Sifwat Ghayur Shaheed, Fayyaz Ahmad Sumbal Shaheed and many others are no less in stature than names like Major Raja Aziz Bhatti Shaheed, Sawar Muhammad Hussain Shaheed, and Sher Khan Shaheed. Both groups were the sons of this soil, who died with their boots on and presented Pakistan with the ultimate sacrifice. Yet, there is no Noor Jehan singing for the martyrs of our police and no national day to celebrate their sacrifice.
On August 8, a bombing in Balochistan wiped out some of its top police officials, an attack which in its magnitude seems similar to the one on Malik Saad Shaheed that decimated the top brass of the KP police, a loss from which the province is yet to recover.
But Pakistan did not care on that blood soaked eve. Instead what came to the fore was the face of Mufti Muneeb and the joys of eating vermicelli. The headline news on PTV at 10 pm began with the Eid announcement, followed by the PM getting a briefing on the LoC and then came the news about the 38 martyrs of Quetta. Private news channels were no different.
Any self-respecting nation would have flown its flag half-mast to honour this sacrifice. Instead these martyrs were honoured with the cancellation of the PM's ‘Eid Milan party’, and that alone was deemed as sufficient. Are we so blind to realise that these men were targeted because of their uniform, a uniform they donned to defend this thankless mob of 180 million? But forget the rest of Pakistan, even Quetta reverberated with joyous aerial firing on the eve of this massacre.
The aftermath of the D I Khan jailbreak has also been marred by the same bias that underestimates the courage of our police. Its analysis usually starts with the Taliban arrival at the gates of the jail, ignoring their journey from Waziristan to D I Khan and back. By beginning from the gates of the jail, this version conveniently cites ‘low morale’, ‘cowardice’ and a lack of training as probable reasons of failure. All of which implicate the police.
There is no doubt that police morale has been lowered due to the inane policies of the current KP government; and the force can definitely do with better equipment and training. However, using these excuses for the incident is a bit of a stretch. The terrorists originated from Waziristan and went back there unchallenged. If cowardice and low morale is to explain police reluctance to engage, then the same should explain the reluctance at army checkpoints as well as that of the two brigades present in the DI Khan Cantt.
It does not make a lot of sense that thousands of uniformed men from both the police and the army had a simultaneous and sudden attack of cowardice. Is it possible that these men were somehow ordered to stand down? It is essential that this possibility be investigated. Making a scapegoat of the police will only demoralise them further.
Nations honour and celebrate their martyrs. It is one of those things that differentiate a nation from a mob. This Eid, Pakistan acted like a mob – a shameless and thankless mob. It is high time we started acting like a nation because acting like one is essential for surviving as one.
The writer is a freelance contributor. He blogs at iopyne.wordpress.com and tweets @iopyne.
Email: iopyne@gmail.com

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