Lahore Police: the new pimp in town?

Two young women and one middle aged woman are standing on the curb near a private petrol pump just before Hussain Chowk in Gulberg around 10pm. One Jehangir Ahmed* stopped his motorcycle in front of them and begins bargaining. A rate is agreed and one young woman seats herself on the motorcycle. About 500 metres later on Mahmood Kasuri Road, two policemen of the Muhafiz Squad wave Ahmed to stop. A few minutes later Ahmed hands them some notes, the girl gets off and he drives off.

“I was trying to obtain the services of a prostitute. The negotiation went well and we agreed a rate of Rs 2,000 for an hour, but the police stopped me only a few metres later and she told them she was a prostitute,” Ahmad told Pakistan Today. “I paid Rs 4,000 to be let go. The police and the prostitute appeared to be in cahoots.”

Gulberg SHO Sheikh Aamir admitted that a number of transgenders and prostitutes offer their services on the roadside in the wee hours of the night. Asked how many cases they had registered, Aamir said they had registered only two cases in the last two months against transgenders in the last two months. He said the low number of cases was because most of the girls and men manage to flee when the police come near.

Pimping – the practice of making available prostitutes – was long considered a task for pimps, with police considered the guardian, waiting in the wings to make the arrest for any shady activity seen forthwith. The tables have now turned. The practice of pimping now has state protection.

The practice of roadside pimping has reached its peak in heat-struck Lahore as prostitutes – both women and transgendered – now man set locations around the city with police complicity.

Women and transgenders can be seen standing after 10pm every night on MM Alam Road, National Park near Kalma Underpass, Campus Road in Faisal Town, Main Boulevard in Iqbal Town, near Liberty Chowk, Canal Road near Thokar Niaz Baig, near Ze Grill in Johar Town and other main areas in the city.

Samia, a transgender who stands at a curb, told Pakistan Today that they offer services to those who cannot afford women. “When we have to stand on any location in Lahore, we tell the police in advance and make an arrangement. They take a cut of our earnings, but it allows us to make a living,” she said.

Arooj, who has been offering services as a prostitute for 15 years, said she has to work with police complicity as she has now aged. “When the high and mighty individuals who seek our services are caught by police, they pay any amount to save their respect,” she told Pakistan Today. “The police give us half the cut and let us continue our work,” she said.

She said that the entire business had now moved to Defence, Johar Town, Iqbal Town, Sabzazar, Model Town and other posh localities. She said the roadside business was one of their main ways of earning. “If we do not take police support, then how will we make a living,” she said.

A police official speaking on anonymity said that hundreds of such locations existed in the city in which police and prostitutes are in cahoots. He said police make an arrangement to share half the cut on every customer, or sometimes they agree that they will catch the first three clients and then let the prostitutes keep the rest.

When Pakistan Today asked DHA Police Station SHO Mian Qadeer Ahmed about the situation in his area, Ahmed said such activities were rarely witnessed in Defence. He said they had registered two cases against transgenders for posing as beggars. No cases however were registered against any prostitutes or men seeking their services.

The IG police’s spokesperson said while it was true that some police officials take money to let prostitutes and their clients go, they would take action if anyone gives them any specific complaint. He said that the Punjab Police now had educated officials who were doing their duty with sincerity.

*Pseudonyms are used instead of real names to protect privacy of the sources.