To Salute or not to Salute?

The act of saluting Ms Maryam Nawaz by Ms Arsala Saleem, an educated grade 18 police officer, has once again triggered a debate in the society about the unjust subordination of the Police Officers in Pakistan. Police officers are being criticized by many due to their allegiance not to the constitution/state but to the ‘royal family’ of Pakistan. This intrigued me into examining the issue through the prism of legal and social realm.

Police Officers being civil servants in Pakistan are governed by the Police Order, 2002 (the ‘Order’). Police Service in Pakistan has gone through major reorientation in terms of its structure, working and legislation, eventually leading to an all-encompassing law i.e. the Order. Police Rules, 1934, made under the previous law still hold field in light of Article 185(a) of the Order and Rule 14.2 mentions the individuals entitled to be saluted by police officers. The said rule further refers to instructions contained in Chapter IV, Police Drill Manual, Punjab, 1929, which provides as follows: –

“(a) All police officers above the rank of head constable are entitled to be saluted by other police officers junior to them in rank.

(b) Police officers of all ranks, when in uniform, shall salute His Excellency the Viceroy; His Excellency the Commander- in- Chief, His Excellency the Governor of the Punjab, and Ministers of the Punjab Government, on all occasions save as excepted in sub-rules (c) and (d) below. The Presidents and Deputy President of Legislative bodies shall receive the same compliments when such Legislation bodies are in session and upon official occasions. Gazetted police officers in uniform shall salute high civil officials and officers of the Navy, Army and Air Force who are superior to them in rank when addressing or addressed by them. Non-gazetted police officers in uniform shall saluting as order above and shall also salute all officers in uniform of the Navy, Army or Air Force superior to them in rank, and all civil official of and above the rank of Extra Assistant Commissioner, or equivalent rank, when addressing or addressed by them.. Head Constables and Constables shall salute as above and shall also salute all civil official of gazetted rank when addressing or addressed by them. Every police officer entering a Court of law in uniform, while such Court is in session, shall salute the Court irrespective of the rank or status of the judicial charge of ilaqa shall be entitled to be saluted within t6the boundaries of their ilaqa, as well as in their Courts, by non-gazetted police officers addressing or addressed by them

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(c) Police of all ranks when on parade, or posted in line public occasions, shall stand to attention only, and all not salute when person entitled to a salute pass them; provided that a police officer on duty shall salute when addressing or addressed individually by a person entitled to a salute form him.

(d) Notwithstanding anything contained in the forgoing instructions, police officers of whatever rank employed on traffic and other duties requiring their concentrate attention shall give no salutes unless actually addressed, or called upon to address in the course of such duty, a person entitled to a salute.”

A bare examination of the above suggests that in no way was Ms Arsala obliged to salute Ms Maryam Nawaz. Then the next important question that cropped up into my mind was that why did she salute Ms Nawaz? The answer to that lies in the gradual moral degradation that has taken over this department with a degree of prominence. Police has unfortunately been used by the politicians in this country as a personal force which in turn has corroded the morale of the serving officers to an irreparable extent. Lack of independence in Police, unlike others similar forces such as Pakistan Rangers, has literally rendered the department as redundant in terms of professional deliverance of officers.

In the words of my pupil master Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan “I started my practice at a time when the general rule was that everyone is honest and now I live in a society where the same has become an exception”.

Officers don’t involve themselves into such disgraceful activities as of choice but are forced into doing it on account of the prevalent atmosphere in the service. Likes of Mr. Nekokara, who choose to go against the grain, have to face the ‘royal’ wrath. The system is so unfair that it does not support any such officer who chooses to create an exception. The officer on duty’s only focus should be the effective and diligent discharge of his duties whereas the insecurity of tenure places an additional burden of securing his posting upon him.

I am sure that the officer who saluted Maryam is an educated officer, who must have secured a good position in her CSS examination as well to enter Police, but she couldn’t help her hand from rising in the ‘honour’ and ‘dignity’ of Ms Nawaz at the cost thousands of other officers. She didn’t stop there in fact she bent down and picked up a pen which many considered was dropped on purpose by Ms Nawaz and upon getting it back she threw it back into her car. This statement reminds of a SSP Lahore who, when asked to handover something by Benazir Bhutto at Lahore International Airport, refused to do and told her on her face that it’s not part of his job. Those who think that there is nothing wrong about Ms Arsala’s salute must understand that certain gestures are symbolic and the officer on duty is a representative of the state. State cannot be made subservient to unelected persons whose only qualification is their association with the royal family of Pakistan.

At this stage I would also like to point out that a lady lawyer endeavored to address the issue by serving her with a legal notice requiring her to apologize to the nation for her impervious act. Instead of the appreciating the lady, she was criticized for using wrong English and what not. For heaven’s sake, we need to come out of this colonial mindset and start appreciating those who take such steps.

Officers like Ms Arsala need to understand that by involving themselves into such unacceptable practices they set a bad precedent for the others. I also expect retired and serving police officers to demand action against Ms Arsala so that the ones serving can also serve with dignity.