Amidst the entire ruckus over the alleged racism of the Punjab police, is the heartwarming case of SSP Shafiq Hassan Malkera, currently serving as the District Police Officer (DPO) of Pervezpur district of Punjab.
A thorough gentleman, Malkera does not discriminate between the Pashtuns of Fata, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan when it comes to harassing them.
“Yes, these are the values that were taught to me, not just by my parents but also seniors in the police department,” he said, speaking to The Dependent from his office. “I intend to carry these values ahead in my life.”
“For me, all that is important is that they should speak Pashto, preferably be poor or lower-middle class and, again, preferably have Pashtun features,” he said, his voice choking up with emotion. “Anything other than that are mere details that I don’t bother myself with and neither should anyone else.”
Malkera’s open-mindedness has spread like wildfire through the district police and beyond. “First, I used to discriminate between them,” said Aslam Hassan, one of Malkera’s SHOs. “But it is only through DPO saheb’s example that I have learnt that the 2000 rupees I will get from a labourer from Karak to release him from the captivity are exactly the same as the 2000 rupees I will get from a labourer from Zhob to set him free.”