Quality over quantity

The prime minister’s recent decision, directing the authorities to establish a new dedicated anti-riot force to deal with future protests goes against the very grain of good governance and respect for taxpayers’ money. This is a tried-out recipe. Many of the highly trained units we currently have are largely engaged in protecting VIPs, rather than being deployed on more serious assignments. What is needed is not the addition of ‘another’ police force but lifting the quality of the existing police to meet the rising law and order challenges. In a world aggressively engaged in downsizing, reducing the size and number of government departments and saving every penny, we seem to be doing just the opposite. This is the reason we are poor.

Naeem Sadiq

Karachi