Monday, March 23, 2009

Peshawar police helpless against gangsters

PESHAWAR: By falling victims to criminals operating in the provincial metropolis, policemen have been giving a clear message to the public that the force has failed miserably to ensure security of life and property to Peshawarites.

There had been gestures from the top to low ranking officers on various occasions in the past that the force was struggling against the criminal gangs and militant groups that have been playing havoc with the peace of the city.

A recent incident, in which an official vehicle was snatched from a deputy superintendent of police (DSP-CIA) accompanied by his gunmen, has sent a negative message to the public and alarmed bells in the corridors of power.

Surprisingly, the officials supposed to protect public did not offer any resistance and preferred to surrender without firing a single shot.

Suchlike incidents might have happened in southern districts of NWFP and Swat, but in Peshawar - which houses the 11th Corps of Pakistan Army, besides the headquarters of Frontier Corps, Frontier Constabulary and Frontier Police - it proved that “criminals have gained utmost strength.”

Just two days before the shameful incident of snatching of car from a DSP and his armed guards on Ring Road, armed tribesmen traveling in around a dozen double-cabin pickups were seen patrolling the area. Most of them were armed with rocket launchers while a few were carrying AK-47 rifles. Many witnessed them walking near Ring Road-Bara Road intersection with rocket launchers on their shoulders. There was no uniformed man to challenge the heavily armed people, suspected to be militants.

This was the same area where an encounter took place almost three months back and police had gunned down a fleeing tribesman. The poor stands of IGP, CCPO and others forced the head of that police party, ASP Hayatabad, to transfer himself out to Punjab in the wake of frequent threats. A sub-inspector of the same party had to involve his elders to settle the issue with that tribal group after senior police officers did not extend any help to the cop.

A number of such measures have brought the morale of the low-ranking policemen down.

Since the law and order has taken an ugly turn in the late 2006, police and other security forces have taken several measures to secure their establishments. One can see barricades erected, walls constructed and new iron gates installed at the entrances to police and army headquarters owing to security concerns.

Many routes leading towards the Peshawar cantonment have been permanently blocked, while security cameras have been installed to observe suspicious movement in the vicinity.

No doubt these steps were aimed at protecting valuable assets. These defensive measures were enough to discourage the junior police officials and bother the public in one way or the other.

One would admit that militancy is not the problem of police and the military and paramilitary forces should handle it. But it is a fact that kidnappings for ransom, robberies, dacoities, car lifting and snatching is directly to be dealt by the police force.

People are surprised as to why police have completely failed to put an end or at least minimize the unprecedented incidents of kidnapping for ransom from the city and surrounding towns.

Criminals have not even spared women who are being picked by unidentified groups to receive ransom against their release or sell them at brothels.

The statistics collected by independent sources revealed that around 100 people, from the well-off citizens to poor cabdrivers, have been kidnapped from Peshawar and nearby towns during the first two and a half months of the year 2009. They could return after payment of ransom, ranging from Rs0.2 million to 30 million.

Like scores of kidnapped people, the snatched vehicle of the DSP is yet to be recovered. The force must be more careful after the incident as criminals can use the official van for terrorist attack on any key installation. Several official vehicles, after being stolen, were used in bombings by terrorists on a number of occasions in the city.

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