Police in Defence Housing Authority (DHA), especially those patrolling Phase VIII, are at the end of their tether with young couples: “The police receive complaints almost every day that a husband has chucked his wife out of the house because she spent a night with her boyfriend in his car. A lot of our time is taken in brokering a compromise between such couples,” a duty officer at the Darakhshan Police Station told Pakistan Today.
The police could, of course, extort money from these couples to let them go but courtesy the Women’s Protection Bill instituted by General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, the couples can easily turn tables on the cops. “Police are confused when it comes to such cases, because laws have been introduced during the recent past which prevent us from making arrests.
We cannot register an FIR until a woman does not approach the police herself to lodge a case,” Clifton Town Police Officer Tariq Dharejo told Pakistan Today. Police argue that picnic spots on Sew View as well as deserted streets and under-construction areas in DHA are popular areas among young couples deprived of proper space.
“On many occasions, we caught children of DHA residents in objectionable positions inside their cars, but the police could not restrict them. If the police take aggressive steps to stop youngsters and ask for Nikah papers, people accuse us of minting money from citizens,” Dharejo added.
Regardless of what the law says, the police’s old habits die hard. Nosy troopers continue to arrest youngsters but this practice has revealed something else to the police: couples from other, distant parts of the city rent cars particularly for the purpose of coming to DHA for their hormonal release.
“It is not just the residents of the area, but outsiders also consider DHA as a safe haven to engage in intercourse,” Dharejo claimed. Meanwhile, couples who head to Sea View, Do Dariya and Devil’s Point have devised a cute little scheme to ensure privacy. While DHA police often clamp down on vehicles with tinted glasses, many have started putting up black shades as an alternative.
