Reform needed!!
Karachi has witnessed a new uprising over the past week. People, frustrated by the ineffective law enforcement authorities, have taken matters in their own hands and there has been a series of incidents where mobs of people have beaten up or burned the caught criminals. Whether this is good or bad is a separate debate altogether and maybe at the moment not as important as the gaping loopholes in our institutions that the incidents point towards. Again, it is not the action that we should be worried about, but the causes. It is not the symptoms that we should be treating but the disease itself. And that disease as we all know is the massive corruption that prevails not just in the police but in every institution in Pakistan.
Bribery is one of those evils that is hardly a vice anymore. The Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) curses both the giver and taker of bribe. If only this one Hadith would have an impact on the public officials in this country, half the evils will automatically be cleansed. Instead, bribery is by now so deeply-rooted in our society that there is no way even the most morally upright man can escape it. It’s either surrendering your principles and paying a bribe or becoming a victim of constant harassment and injustice by the very defenders of the law.
Such a wide scale bribery culture, thus, becomes the most single most decisive factor behind the lawlessness in the city. In a land where you can your way out of retribution, the law becomes insignificant and sense of impunity reigns supreme. Anarchy becomes the order of the day where anyone can get away for anything.
The question, then, is, Can this malice be uprooted from the system? Why does a police officer accept bribe when he knows it is wrong? The questions are simple. The answers aren’t. Meager salaries are one reason behind rampant corruption. Lack of professionalism is another. Absence of a sense of responsibility and the trickledown effect of corruption at higher levels, yet some more.
Raising salaries for lower level officials can be one incentive to discourage them from accepting bribes, however, this is one problem where solving matters only at the grass roots will be of hardly any consequence. As long as NRO cleansed leaders continue to rule this country, any change in the system cannot be envisaged. When one segment of society is beyond accountability, the down trodden segments are bound to be frustrated. When the biggest defaulters in this country can have their loans wiped off and the small debtor harried to no ends, the masses are bound to strike back.
When Dr. Shoaib Suddle was appointed IG Sindh a few weeks ago, many thought street crime in Karachi would come shooting down but that was not to be. It comes as no surprise that a people, already barely able to make ends meet in the face of sharp price increases, have finally found a voice to express their grievances. The actions of the past week carry symbolic significance. The enraged Pakistani society is not just setting fire to a handful of robbers but it is the system and those who run it that they wish to bring to ashes. Opportunistic rulers of this unfortunate country, take heed. A nation is waking up!
A revolution is near. So near you can almost smell it in the air
excellent post sid!!!
Sid, you are forgetting that Shariah is considered Taboo among educated and enlightened retards of our society so quoting Hadith and Quran is not making sense here.
When Dr. Shoaib Suddle was appointed IG Sindh a few weeks ago, many thought street crime in Karachi would come shooting down but that was not to be.
Khala Kya hogaya tumhay?Crime rate has significantly been reduced. You should read papers. Now one should not expect him to reduce it upto zero within 2 months. Specially when MQM goons already got read to bed with PPP so not good to blame him only.
PROBLEMS:
an outdated legal and institutional framework (devised for nineteenth century India consisting of near static villages with hardly any urbanisation or industrialization, and meant principally for a colonial rule), (2) arbitrary and whimsical mismanagement of police by the executive authority of the state at every level (policemen were increasingly recruited, trained, promoted and posted without regard to merit and mainly for their subservience to people with influence and power)(3) inadequate accountability, (4) poor incentive systems, (5) widespread corruption, and (6) severe under-resourcing of law and order.
THE SOLUTION:
The solution lay in radically changing the way the police operated, in developing a sub-culture of professional policing, trained and equipped to uphold the rule of law, in shifting from more-than-century-old oppressive policing practices to community policing, and in reinventing the police which had miserably failed to win much-needed partnership with citizens and communities. It was time for police to enter into a customer service contract with the people of Pakistan, a new guarantee of more effective, efficient, responsive, accountable policing. It was time to implement ideas that worked and get rid of those that didn’t.
Regards,
Barrister Ali K.Chishti
http://akchishti.blogspot.com
Dr. Shoaib Suddle was appointed IG Sindh a few weeks ago, many thought street crime in Karachi would come shooting down but that was not to be.
his hands are tied at the moment,MQM starts whining and wailing instantly after his appointment and blackmails and threatens and even announced to sit in opposition,thinking that maybe their cheap tactics might force his NROfied boss(zardari) to withdraw his appointment,but his boss at the moment wants to play ball with grand terrorist of London town so currently he has no choice but to stay dormant,minute he touches Altaf bai’s goons he is summoned to governor house and threatened with serious consequences and has already been receiving death threats
no matter how much depressed and demoralized people have become they should not take law into their own hand,saner voices must prevail ,those involved in these incidents should be given proper punishment so that it should deter others thinking of repeating the same thing again. burning down public transport is quite common phenomenon and perpetrators involved easily manage to run away from the scene without being caught but here they are burning down a living thing,an inhumane,unimaginable and deplorable act(maybe they’re getting inspiration from 9 April’s heinous act in which mob aka awami rad-e-amal burnt and killed innocent people just to ‘teach them a lesson’ and were never caught and till today roam scotfree with impunity making a mockery of law of the land )
I don’t think the appointment of any IG would result in the decrease in crime until field policing officers and policing gets a major overhaul.
The Problem
Among the serious constraints undermining the police system of Pakistan are: (1) an outdated legal and institutional framework (devised for nineteenth century India consisting of near static villages with hardly any urbanisation or industrialization, and meant principally for a colonial rule), (2) arbitrary and whimsical mismanagement of police by the executive authority of the state at every level (policemen were increasingly recruited, trained, promoted and posted without regard to merit and mainly for their subservience to people with influence and power), (3) inadequate accountability, (4) poor incentive systems, (5) widespread corruption, and (6) severe under-resourcing of law and order.
Solution
The solution lay in radically changing the way the police operated, in developing a sub-culture of professional policing, trained and equipped to uphold the rule of law, in shifting from more-than-century-old oppressive policing practices to community policing, and in reinventing the police which had miserably failed to win much-needed partnership with citizens and communities. It was time for police to enter into a customer service contract with the people of Pakistan, a new guarantee of more effective, efficient, responsive, accountable policing. It was time to implement ideas that worked and get rid of those that didn’t.
Although appointment of Shoib Suddle is controversial but he’s an honest man who is somewhat ‘neutral’ as compared to other police officers – he’s a thinking man who has a certain vision.
Regards,
Barrister Ali K.Chishti
http://www.akchishti.blogspot.com
do we see embezzlement in our society? yes we do government officers more rich then salaried people :). Do we see lawlessness in our society? yes we do traffic accidents is in daily news , robbery also a part of daily news , sectarian violence, environmental issues like pollution noise all we hear and see daily . No matter who rule this country but we need to take us out from this morass. civilization comes from religion its not a man made thing. we need a ruler who has GOD FEARING quality we also at the same time need to correct ourselves. if we want to see a change we has to bring that change within us.
Excellent post.
It was recently highlighted that half the thanas in this city did not even have a workin telephone…forget dreamy things like forensics and all. There is simply no means for our police to track down criminals except for picking up random people and interrogating them or relying on information from "khabris" this system went out of rage in the 1900’s in other parts of the world.
We often blame our police for taking bribes, but we pay them what??? have any of us seen police quarters and the conditions they live in?
ADNAN, DOCTOR, MB, TEETH: I believe you are one person and if you are not and if I am wrong then I think you guys have to see a doctor or something. You are just too damn focused on MQM and will drag them in every little thing. MQM is not all around PAKISTAN yet this very police system exists everywhere in Pakistan. What do you have to say about that?
Agreed with zeeshan. All their arguments are illogical. These ppl should be banned from the blog.
SID – you are sensitive human being and your heart bleed about apathy of nation, I respect that.
BUT as a NATION – we are at the brink of total collapse of MORALITY.
We tend to burn GUILTY people because we all know that when police take them in custody they will be free in less then 24 hours and come back to take us on task.
I don’t see any harm killing, shooting people who HURT US, OUR LOVED ONES, DAMAGE OUR properties setting an example BECAUSE LAW does not protect us commoners. However it is not right.
MB, Adnan, Teeth, Doctor
Basically represents a ‘mindset’ and at times I wonder with all there rhetoric – what good do they do instead of criticizing MQM? at a same time – MQM voters, sympathizers should understand that all they utter is not ‘fiction’ some of there points are valid but I agree they do it for sheer hate sometimes and I repeat sometimes without logic and rationale.
On a side note – we have to appreciate that most of the MQM-bashers are actually moderators of this blog and can not be kicked out.
Regards,
Barrister Ali K.Chishti
http://www.akchishti.blogspot.com
hey barrister, i think everyone represent a mindset like you represent yours and I wonder what do you do(and others)instead of defending MQM all the time? Come out of your glass house then throw stones on others.Have fun.
Those who cannot do, criticize – and they do it for the sake of it. Problem is not MQM – problem is folks like you Adnan who blame MQM even for the earthquake in China (an example) ….
REAL problem is folks like you barristerakc who support bunch of terrorists and continue supporting them despite knowing very well
kind of heinous crimes they’re involved in just because they belong to same ethnicity as yours. thats the major reason for degradation of our society.. some one wholeheartedly supporting criminals just coz they are from same race cast creed or ethnic background
let me quote what you said earlier:
a) Well I do have a soft-corner for MQM as a political party / force and the is because ‘I think MQM is the only force which represents my ethnic group’’
let me quote you this time with a lil bit twist:
I have soft corner for Arshad Papu(a pro MQM daku as you earlier mentioned) just because he represents my ethnic group’’
obdurately continue supporting him and obstinately keep on ignoring the crimes being commited by him..
just like racism is a deplorable act,similarly what you’re doing is equally deplorable act
Although I could’ve said a lot about this topic, in a nutshell: start the cleansing from top to bottom, not the other way around – or in other words as mentioned here, pull out the weed from the root. And another massive change needed in mentality, and here’s just a piece of it: choose your political party or representative based on their efforts, not their ethnicity or status.
Doctor Sahab,
Academically speaking –
i) I’ll vote MQM for the balance of power between Rural-Urban Sindh
ii) I have the guts unlike you to differentiate between right and wrong – it’s called conscience?
iii) I had always condemn MQM(s) violent actions (including 12th May, 9th April) apart from there stance on judiciary and blind support for Presidency.
iv) If Rehman Dakait is a tool for PPP then yes, Arshad Papu has had been the tool of MQM – agreed wrongly on principle.
v) The problem with folks like you is that you think from a closed closet and suffers from ‘MQMphobia’ thanks to the PTV NEWS of 1992-1994.
vi) Unfortunately, in the land of impure where we live – I vote for the lesser-evil, MQM with all the strings attached to her although I openly condemn there violent acts, actions, support to the presidency.
I suggest a MB meetup – for tea, coffee at my place? Everyone’s invited. Anyone up for it?
Regards,
Barrister Ali K.Chishti
http://www.akchishti.blogspot.com
Doc, barrister sahib ghusay mein hain, chaey mein kuch mila na dain :p
Those who are supporting such kind of mob justice are as inhuman as those who actually burnt the guys. And those who watched and made videos!!
The real bandits are sitting in powerful places. The loot and plunder so much as can be enough to support millions of poor souls, who resort to violence and small scale crime. I dont think any of the burnt bandits was a rich guy into decoity just for the heck of it. Because such people go to parliament and are sitting in other ‘hassas idaras’.
People may be waking up, but their direction has to be right. They should not be lynching helpless (and hapless) idiots, but demanding real reform.
As for reform in police and justice system, let me say that it’s easier said than done. Those at the helm of affairs are incompetent or corrupt, or both, or they have long ago trashed their thinking caps, or they never had any.
axiomatic: The problem is that we have only handful of leaders. People KNOW what PPP and PML-N did to the country when they had power to rule the nation twice and the people of Pakistan knew that they would come back with the same ugly faces to loot us again. It’s their choice I know but all they have to choose now is the lesser evil. In case of both PPP and PML-N they are both equally evil. There are no new leaders to look up to. Perhaps if more people like Mustafa Kamal surface, we might see some difference but then again, we all know this will never happen.
This country is BOUND to see a civil war in the next 5 years. It can be as early as tomorrow, we all better be at least mentally prepared for it and I can safely say that it’s because of people like Adnan, MB, Doctor etc that we’ll see the light of a bloody day!
i think this is rite step taken by some brave ppl . I wonder why police is trying to save those dacoits? as they get share from those dacoits?
Indeed these are the signs of revolution. We need wat happened in france centuries ago. All politicians and corrupt persons need to be wiped out