KARACHI CHRONICLE: The plight of the policeman

Official, amature and media analysis of attack and 1000 kg blast that flattened CID building on November 11 followed the usual cleche pattern the police are inefficient; the security agencies are unable to defend themselves so what can one hope they will do to protect the public; they are corrupt; they are trigger happy etc covering numerous inequities and sins of omission and commission.
Even though all of it is true it is unfairly judgemental. Never do we consider the plight of the policeman who is treated like a serf of a feudal lord by officials; who is compelled to do useless duty, like guarding the route of a VIP, standing in the sun for hours and hours; who is forced to kill on order; who has weapons less efficient than the criminals; if he is killed he is worth a lakh or two lakh rupees paid as compensation to his bereaved family, money that will not see them safely through even one year; if he dies at least there is that little compensation, but if he is disabled then he must live the life of a beggar on a pittance of financial aid that does not put food on the table for more than a week in a month.
In short, the policeman is treated worse than an animal. I am not aware of a single agency that has raised the issue of a policeman's human rights; it is as if he has none; he does not belong to the human race. Even prisoners have human rights and people devoted to their welfare. What NGO or welfare agency works for the welfare of the policeman? None.
Everyday I note the plight of policemen posted opposite the three banks in my commercial area. They do not sit near the banks, they sit opposite the bank under the burning sun on the greenbelt. One is lucky to have some shade under the spindly little tree which mercifully grows near his post. Two or three times a day a police van goes past to ensure that the policemen are at their post. Sometimes a policeman may park himself in the shady lane, but if caught by the patrol he is severely reprimanded and ordered to put his chair out in the sun, at his post.
The officer seems to think that the chair provided for the policeman to sit is a great favour. But try to imagine a man's discomfort sitting in the hot sun, surrounded by the humid fumes rising around and the flies. He does not have a newspaper or a book, he simply has to sit from nine to five. The only other attention to his welfare, besides the chair, is that the bank provides a bottle of water. I can see one policeman from my bedroom window. I see him swatting flies, removing his cap to wipe the sweat, unsling the gun to park in near the chair for a while then sling it back on his shoulder, cross his legs and uncross them, lean forward, lean back. This goes on from morning till evening. Is this humane?
According to a traffic policeman I know, about fifty percent police force, constables and traffic, are doing similar useless duty of guarding banks, mosques, at times churches and temples and, of course, the VIP's route. Another lot are hanging about outside the homes of ministers and police officials, not by choice but as their duty.
He said you can increase the number of policemen ten fold but fifty percent will still be doing this kind of useless duty. It is useless. It is impossible to prevent an attack on a VIP by simply posting a great number of policemen along a route. It is impossible to prevent a bank robbery which nowadays takes place late at night or early in the morning. It is not possible to pre-empt a terrorist attack as one never knows when or where they will strike.
According to a colleague, fifty percent police force are not on guard duty in these several ways. He believes fifty percent police force is exclusively for the protection of President Zardari when he is in the city. Bilawal House and other places he is likely to visit are cordoned off in a one mile radius. This is when he visits the city. When he is not in residence even then his home cum work camp is guarded as if a war is expected. Sandbags, rangers, guns, armoured cars make it a no-go area for the public.
Terrorist attacks in the city are nothing new, but the attack on the CID building is seen as a first of its kind against a state target in Karachi. More such attacks on key government buildings are expected, according to intelligence sources. Hence, police has implemented a security plan for the "red zone" that houses key establishments, including Governor's House, Chief Minister's House, Bilawal House (Is it a government establishment?). The plan was implemented suddenly on Monday November 15 causing a massive snarl up of traffic in the "red zone".
That brought 300 more policemen to do guard duty. And there will be more stand or sit-and-wait duties at 30 key points, 16 in Clifton and 14 in Saddar Town. "A total of 60 police vans, each carrying half a dozen police personnel, have been assigned to spot every suspicious vehicle, mainly commercial ones (trucks and mini vans), for snap check and deny movement of the heavy vehicles in the security zones," said a police official.
The dignity of a policeman and the quality of his life is not the concern of either the government, the police officials or any welfare agency. The policemen, therefore, takes no pride in his service and has no shame in corrupt practices such as taking "bhatta" (extortion money) from innocent public.
The policemen excuses his bad habits on the grounds that he is poorly paid. Police all over the world, even in developed countries, are poorly paid, but they have other benefits that prevent an easy slide into criminal ways of making ends meet. What we need is something on the lines of Fauji Foundation which will provide income to police from trade commerce and industry. It would generate finances for police welfare. There should be special schools run by the foundation for children of policemen. These schools should be aimed at teaching technology rather than the useless formal education that does not promise them good jobs in future. They should be trained to be electricians, tailors, carpenters, IT servers, air-condition and fridge maintenance and similar sure-shot paying jobs.
The reason why policemen put up with their indignity is because of job insecurity. What do you expect from a person who was one of 2,000 applicants for 200 jobs and was fortunate enough to have got it?