LeJ style
Ever since the war on terror, more specifically Operation Zarb-e-Azb – when the military had to play the lead role against the terrorists – a certain kind of army vs police argument has been taking place in the press. The military has no business cleaning up cities, goes the squabble, since it is the police’s jurisdiction and duty to keep the terrorists out. As long as the fighting is in badlands like fata, it’s okay for the boots to play the lead role. But in urban centres, there should be clear demarcation.
While it is true that the military is best kept out of cities, no matter the magnitude of terrorism, uprising or civil war, it is equally true that in our particular case the pro-police lobby hits a brick wall every time the police force embarrasses itself. The argument that not nearly enough is spent on the police, hence expectations that it should be up to scratch, is also quite misplaced. From the Shaheen Force to the Counter Terror Department, the police force has undergone numerous upgrades and phases of value addition. Yet when it comes to delivery, it’s record is somewhat third-grade at best.
The notorious LeJ jailbreak in Karachi is yet another example. They’ll be beefing up security at the said prison for the next year now. But when they had high-profile and extremely dangerous criminals in custody, the security situation was so poor that the bad guys could virtually cut their prison bars to make their escape. One of the two is a known killer of more than fifty people. Not only did they disappear without trace (at least till the time of writing) but the good force also took its sweet time in reporting the embarrassment. It is not really funds or attention that is lacking from the police. It is just that it continues to be one of the most incompetent and corrupt institutions in the country. That needs correction and results will follow.
