Radical change required in KP Police
Riaz Khan
The police department is one of those departments with which the people mostly interact for their different types of matters and that is why when the PTI came into power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it initiated reforming the police. Although, some things would have been changed for which the PTI government takes credit, but, despite the said reforms, the poor and oppressed people are still reluctant to go to police stations for registering their complaints etc.
The main reason may be the old and conventional mindset and approach that is still prevalent in the police stations of the province. Besides, there also seem some big and deep flaws in the police system due to which it can be seen that the incidents of police torture are increasing day by day, instead of addressing the problems of the citizens at police stations.
A big example is the recently happened Tehkal Tragedy in which the local police made naked and severely tortured a young man and later on that incident put the police department on fire as everyone strongly condemned it throughout the world and demanded justice for the victim. In response to this, the provincial government formed a judicial commission for holding an independent enquiry in the case to provide justice to the victim and recommend exemplary punishment to those cops who are involved in this tragic and inhuman incident.
It is a good development and we must appreciate it, however, it is very important to note that KP police has not done such an incident for the first time and such type of cases are in a big number, but unfortunately most of them remain unreported due to multiple reasons.
Last Ramadan, the Incharge of Fazal-ul-Haq College police post in Mardan tortured and tied up a poor laborer with a tree on the complaint of a person. Later on, the victim submitted an application against that police officer at the district police office and an enquiry was started, but, the said police officer pressurized the victim and forced him to withdraw his application, and of course he did so. However, no action was taken against the police officer for misuse of power.
Similarly, around a week ago, some people of Takht Bhai submitted an application at Sheikh Maltoon Town police station against a resident of Mohabat Abad. The police raided his house at night and brought him along with his father, uncle and brothers. They were insulted in front of the applicant. Later, it was disclosed that there was a money dispute between them.
The wave of these cases doesn’t end here. Few days back, a driver of a company lodged a complaint at Hoti police station against a member of the Mardan Press Club. The police officials called him to the police station and kept him in illegal custody for four to five hours.
If we will talk about such cases, it will become a long list however there is need for radical change in the police system in order to make its problems addressal system satisfactory and make the police force public friendly. This change should also have a strict punishment feature to end the misuse of power by police officials. Therefore, the provincial government should pay its due attention to this situation as it is a matter of great concern for the public.
The writer is a senior journalist based in Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He can be reached at: riazmayar@gmail.com.
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