Rangers vs police
Karachi police no doubt suffers from numerous shortcomings which have had a negative impact on its performance. For years recruitment has been made on political basis. Appointments and promotions have depended more on government patronage than efficiency. In cases the ruling parties’ blue eyed boys have continued to be promoted while facing serious criminal cases in courts. Corruption is rampant and police personnel have been found involved in kidnappings for ransom. The police performance has also suffered from factors beyond the control of the force. Karachi population has expanded rapidly without adequate expansion in police staff. While expected to deal with corporate crime and terrorism besides routine offences police have neither been provided required training nor the modern equipment for intelligence gathering. The department dealing with prosecution badly lacks trained staff.
The impatience on the part of DG Karachi Rangers is understandable provided it remains within limits. It goes to the credit of better equipped Rangers that crime rate has significantly declined in the city. This should not however make one ignore the work done by police officers connected with intelligence collection and analysis who identified those behind Shikarpur terrorist attack and Safoora killings in weeks. Their competence has been duly acknowledged among others by the COAS. Despite the contribution to Karachi peace by the Rangers, the way they handled Dr Asim Hussain’s case does not inspire confidence in their ability to prosecute.
The establishment needs to realise that there is no alternative to an elected civilian government despite its shortcomings. Similarly crime in urban centres, or for that matter rural areas, can best be dealt with by police force which needs to be highly professional, better equipped and recruited on merit. The Rangers cannot be assigned the duties of crime control in cities on a permanent basis. The police recruited from local population keeps its ears to the ground while Rangers coming from other provinces sometimes fails to take note of local sensitivities which can give birth to fresh grievances.