Addressing the basics

The capacity of terrorists to strike in any part of the country exposes our abiding vulnerability mainly arising from, among other things, long-standing weaknesses in our internal security system – the police, intelligence agencies, prosecution and the courts.
Our internal security establishment has been unable to fully prevent recruitment of young people by terrorist organisations, movement of terrorists across the country and provision of logistical support to them by locals besides proliferation of arms. In most cases, the courts let the suspects go, who on release commit more heinous crimes than before.
The state has mainly relied on elimination of terrorists in military operations and staged police encounters, neglecting the basic institutions of maintaining law and order, and criminal justice.
A police station is the very foundation on which the whole edifice of public safety is erected as it gathers intelligence at the grassroots level where it is easy to identify suspects and unearth unusual, suspicious activities. Had this institution been fully functional, Osama bin Laden would not have been able to hide in Abbottabad for so many years.
Despite the fact that the country has been facing terrorism, in one or other form, for the past 25 years, the state has failed in enhancing the capacity of internal security institutions to the level where they could overcome the menace.
The ruling elite have exploited public resources for their own security rather than public safety. In the last two decades, the provincial governments have established more than one specialised force with an apparent objective of checking terrorism. These forces have been largely set to serve the political elite, rather than being allowed to do their stated job.
The Punjab police did not provide provincial home minister Shuja Khanzada adequate security at his residence in Attock though he had been on the hit list for being on the forefront of the fight against terrorism, whereas 2,751 police officers were deputed at three private residences of the prime minister and Punjab’s chief minister. The Punjab government has recently doled out cash rewards to these cops for their services.
In 2009, the provincial governments spent a huge amount to create a new Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), with much higher salaries for its staff than those of the regular police force, but its service delivery is as poor as that of the rest of the force. A large number of CTD officers in Punjab are doing desk duties in the police department instead of fighting militants in the field.
In the late 1990s, Punjab had, with much media hype, created the Elite Force to fight sectarian killings. Most of its members, though, have been deputed to protect politicians and other VVIPs. The Punjab police department now plans to recruit more than 5,000 officers for a newly-created special protection unit.
Additionally, this year the Punjab government has earmarked a budget of Rs3.5 billion to set up yet another police force, named ‘Dolphins’, for fighting ‘street crimes’ though, as per tradition, they may also be set to patrol smart suburbs where politicians, top bureaucrats and other members of the elite have their residences.
Well-trained and well-equipped forces are available for the elite, but the police meant for ordinary people are fewer in number, poorly trained and lacking in resources. For example, there are 180,000 policemen for 100 million people living in Punjab – one police officer for around 550 persons. In districts such as Multan, this ratio is as low as one police official for 830 persons. In other provinces, the situation is almost the same or worse.
In Turkey, whose urban transport model we are imitating these days, there is one policeman for 189 persons. In Sri Lanka, this ratio is one for 289. Given our perilous security situation, the police strength needs to be doubled.
Further, most police personnel are working in pathetic working conditions, hardly conducive to a highly motivated force needed to fight terrorism. Almost half of all police stations across the country are either situated in ramshackle buildings or rented shops and houses.
The state of the police investigation branch – a key department in getting criminals terrorists convicted – presents a dismal picture. By August this year, the Punjab police filed charge-sheets (challans) of nearly half of 194,878 criminal cases it had registered during the first six months though they were required to do so within 14 days of filing a complaint.
This delay in investigation, a hallmark of our police system, is mainly because investigating officers are overworked, at times one officer dealing with dozens of criminal cases at a time. Lack of training, non-availability of modern techniques and equipment and rampant corruption further deteriorate the quality of investigation.
The same holds true for prosecution departments. More than 500 posts in Punjab’s prosecution department have been vacant for several months as prosecutors keep leaving their jobs owing to the meagre salaries offered. A government prosecutor earns a little more than Rs1,000 per day whereas the counsel for a terror suspect earns in hundreds of thousands.
Slow and defective investigation and prosecution result in tardy justice administration. By August this year, Punjab’s anti-terrorism courts have decided not more than 12 percent of nearly 26,000 cases registered during the first six months of the year. Sindh is not far behind where, during the same period, anti-terrorism courts disposed of only 20.5 percent (677) of the total 3,300 cases.
A worn-out police force and tardy judicial system are suicidal for us – given the gravity of the terrorism threat. The sooner the state fixes them, the better for the country. Military campaigns against terrorist outfits cannot go on forever. A smart internal security system, with a beefed-up intelligence network and enhanced capacity of the criminal justice system, needs to be put in place for deterring and finally eradicating terrorism.
Email: adnanadilzaidi@gmail.com