Fair cop
Sir,
That in the ongoing political crisis, a hitherto dysfunctional Parliament swung to save the democratic project was a healthy sign. It was also easy to appreciate the oratorical skills of the distinguished members and their emotional outbursts regarding the sanctity of the constitution. But the constitution is not an empty book to be remembered selectively. It is a social contract which governs the entire scheme of governance in the federation. The constitution is not only about the rights of the privileged but of all citizens of the state. And unless those rights are ensured according to the spirit of the document, no amount of speeches are going to instill either a respect for the constitution or the structures created by it.
Foremost in the constitutional scheme of things lays the fundamental rights and foremost amongst these are the “security of person, safeguards as to arrest and detention and right of fair trial”. The state is obliged to ensure these fundamental rights and the primary executive agency of the state for the above mentioned rights is the police.
The police represents the coercive arm of the state entrusted with the responsibility of maintenance of public law and order. In broad terms this is carried out through preventive, investigative and prosecution functions. That our police has been woefully short on all accounts is almost a given. But the police performance in the events of Model Town and the handling of the protest marches is a low point even by the standards of our police and ought to be taken very seriously.
In Model Town, the police, whose job it is to protect public property, did the opposite and that too by hired help. The image of an SP congratulating a vandalizer should make any self respecting police officer hang his head in shame. And then, the manner in which disproportionate force was used displayed the sheer incompetence and an utter disregard of operational responsibility by senior police cadres. Previous eye-opening events on the extremely poor police performance like the Sikander incident in Islamabad, and the lynching of brothers Mughees and Muneeb Butt in Sialkot on August 15, 2010 to name a few, were grave enough to initiate corrective actions, but were ignored.
In the ongoing political crisis in Islamabad, the police has been exposed again in terms of planning, foresight, morale and leadership. It is all the more serious since police authorities had more than sufficient time and resources to deal with the protesters converging on Islamabad. That the government had to change two police chiefs and some senior operational commanders says volumes not only about the morale and operational effectiveness of the force, but also the huge trust deficit between Government and the police. Resultantly, on September 1, the federal capital witnessed scenes of anarchy with no semblance of state writ. Things could have spiraled out of control had it not been the presence of the army as a stabilizing force of the last resort.
What are the issues confronting the police? The foremost is the desire to retain the police as a coercive arm to further the interests of the ruling elite rather than the society at large. It has also led to command and control issues. The Police Order of 2002 was not implemented in its desired spirit. The 18th amendment delegated policing and law and order functions to the provinces with the result that the police is not governed by any uniform law in the country. With no disrespect to the spirit of provincial autonomy, the universally accepted practice regarding any armed force of the state is the unity of conception in the realms of concepts, policy, and doctrine.
A politicized police ensures that important appointments are made as favors rather than on considerations of professional competence. The force also lacks authority and therefore a responsive and responsible chain of command is nonexistent. The Inspector General of the Police, being the senior most police officer is a mere figurehead. In such a culture, proper training, discipline, morale and oversight functions of the subordinate tiers are drastically affected. Till the time these basic conditions are not corrected, no amount of equipment and funds can weld the present police force into a viable organization.
Sajid Muzaffar Chaudhary,
Islamabad.
History repeats itself
Sir,
In 2009, PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif led a march towards Islamabad for the reinstatement of the sacked chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. In spite of several attempts by the government to resolve the issue through negotiations, Nawaz Sharif was not willing to stop his march or come to an agreement with the government.
The government of the day had to request Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to play the role of a mediator. His decision not to back the movement against the government created respect for the army in the hearts of the people who believe in democracy.
We are now in a similar situation, but the players have changed. Nawaz Sharif is now in government and Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri are leading a protest movement against him. They are not ready to make any compromises, questioning the legitimacy of the government, and asking the prime minister to step down. Eventually, the government had to ask the army chief to play the role of a mediator.
It may be against democratic norms, but it is the need of the time. The military must show now that it will support democracy in the broader interest of Pakistan.
Sanaullah Kakar,
Lahore.
Captain 1, Pakistan 0
Sir,
The captain, along with his cousin Allama Tahirul Qadri, should celebrate that they have won and Pakistan’s first wicket has fallen – the Chinese president has postponed his visit to Islamabad. Not only the third umpire, but all the umpires have raised their fingers in favour of the captain.
The job that our international rivals and competitors, and even the Taliban couldn’t do, has been successfully done by Imran Khan. We do not need to worry about the $38 billion investments because we do not need them in old Pakistan.
If our relations with China, spread over decades, have been strained, that is a sign that we might have to make new friends in the new Pakistan. The Gwader Port which was going to be the deepest, cheapest and shortest route to the region is useless because it will only benefits the backwards people of Balochistan.
Those who were not coming out in protest in Islamabad and did not heed his call for a civil disobedience must now accept the determination of the great Khan who has the power to shut down the whole country.
The Independence Day is celebrated throughout the world with zeal, enthusiasm and national fervor and so was the case in Pakistan. This day we all used to march to show the world that we are one nation. Unfortunately, this year a so called most democratic PTI joined hands with a religious extremist party and marred this day with their agitation call. Instead of happiness the country was gripped with fear.
May I remind the captain that leading 11 players and leading 200 million people are not the same. And may I request Nawaz Sharif to learn from his past mistakes and make friends instead of enemies?
I must congratulate all the political parties, because they have done a good job ignoring people’s real sufferings. People are born to suffer and freedom requires sacrifices. We are free, therefore nobody is held accountable, there is no reward and punishment, and the rich become richer and poor poorer.
Bilal Shahid Zahur,
Islamabad.
Dear chief justice
Sir,
I want to make the following request to the honourable chief justice of Pakistan:
As a patriotic citizen of Pakistan, I am beseeching your attention to look into the seditious and inflammatory speeches of Mr Imran Khan, chairman of Tehrik-e-Insaf, and Dr Tahir ul Qadri, chief of Awami Tehrik. This is because an unsure and helpless government cannot address basic issues of the state such as implementing clearly laid down rules in the penal code with regard to what falls in the ambit of liberty and what falls in the ambit of sedition – such as calling for throwing out a legally elected government under the constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Clearly the first fault lies with the government of Pakistan, which has failed to fulfill its own duties and responsibilities, and the rights it has to exercise to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. It has allowed the impasse in Islamabad to continue for the last three weeks at a colossal loss to its reputation for governance and implement the writ of the state. The rest has been done by the electronic media, in the shape of one hundred channels which freely carry the message of the two leaders across the country and provide them coverage as if it is a religious sermon. For hours and hours, illegal calls given by the two leaders, one inciting violence, and the other inciting hatred as well as appealing to the public to stop paying electricity bills, stop remittances through normal banking channels and also threatening to grab the Prime Minister of Pakistan as well as secretary interior and inspector general of police by the throat and punch them.
As a citizen of Pakistan may I humbly ask you if it is allowed to carry such message on the electronic media for hours and hours inciting the people against the elected government, to come out and topple them.
In addition, despite article 245 being in operation, a weak end helpless government watches over the situation without any clear cut course of action to tackle the situation. If nothing could be done, can someone in the government of Pakistan acting on its own or the order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan cut of the electricity and electronic media coverage under the relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, NEPRA rules, and violation of Article 245 of the constitution?
Have we become so helpless that state run TV and radio are overrun by a crowd and occupied, while article 245 is in operation? Control of electronic media is basically the function of NEPRA which should tackle the situation on post haste basis and immediately clamp down and stop this coverage of seditious speeches all together. In addition, the portion of the speech in which there is a call of a revolt against the state, such as a call for non payment of taxes or electricity bills, should be forbidden on the electronic media’s live coverage.
What are we waiting for? If the government has failed in its basic functions should not the Supreme Court act in the highest interest of the state? Our heart weeps and our nerves are shattered. In the name of democracy and freedom of expressions all civilized laws have been violated. No freedom loving country can allow this impasse to continue where in the world the parliament, Prime Minister’s House and state institutions have been besieged and today all embassies have been closed.
Regardless of fact that there is loss of life, the state has to act a clear the Constitution Avenue with the firmness it requires. The government is caught in indecisiveness because if it acts some other parties and state actors will accuse it of murder, and if it does not act, the state will collapse and there is a danger of military intervention which will throw the country into further turmoil.
Anwaar Rasul Khan,
Lahore.
Where is the state?
Sir,
There is no doubt that the political leadership and the establishment have failed to come up to the aspirations of the public in accordance with their roles defined in the constitution. The solution lies in more democracy, with no supra-constitutional role for any state funded institution and a process of accountability, economic reforms and justice, already specified in the constitution but never implemented in letter or spirit. What we need is to shun the legacy of Gen Zia and Gen Musharraf and adopt the vision of our founding fathers.
It causes deep pain and anguish to witness anarchy in our motherland, a country for which thousands struggled under selfless leadership of Jinnah. When an SSP in Islamabad was beaten up in uniform by baton-carrying hooligans bearing flags of Pakistam Awami Tehrik in the Red Zone, which had a three-tier security cordon in place, when the fence of the Parliament House was torn down, and when the PTV headquarters were stormed and ransacked, the writ of the state was violated. These shameful events were aired live by private TV channels.
The state of Pakistan today stands weakened and we cannot blame the Chinese president for canceling or postponing his official visit. Who wins or loses really does not matter in this battle for turf, but Pakistan has been weakened because of misplaced egos and myopic vision of those for whom this country has assumed a secondary priority.
Every institution of the state seems to be politicized. Otherwise, the sanctity of the symbols of state would not have been allowed to be tarnished in this manner. Use of force within Pakistan and on our borders is the exclusive monopoly of the state and its organs, and under no circumstances can protestors or vigilantes assume this role.
We have witnessed how terrorists, target killers, and extortionists have been allowed to grow and strengthen, and today hold this country and its constitution to ransom. Where is the state and its organs armed by taxpayers to protect it?
I pray for the safety of Pakistan from the insatiable greed of a few within it.
Malik Tariq,
Lahore.
Wrong side of history
Sir,
There is no need to comment or elaborate on the stance of the three major players in the ongoing political turmoil in the country. But will it be wrong to surmise that they are all on the wrong side of history?
Completely oblivious to national interests, the lust for violence and the will to power are their riding horses. Self righteousness, coupled with verbosity bordering on insanity, is driving the country to the edge of an abyss. No one is ready to budge an inch.
The sufferers were and are the masses, and they will continue to suffer in the future too.
Mustahsan Ali Tirmizi,
Lahore.