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Controversial committee NEITHER the devolution plan nor the police order empowered the district police officer to constitute crime control or peace committees at any level unilaterally. However, unchecked by his superiors, the DPO formed a number of such bodies from the police station and union council to the tehsil and district levels. Majority of the people nominated on these committees were selected by the DPO without examining their credentials. After becoming members most of them started displaying special name plates on their vehicles, houses and offices. What is worse, they have reportedly been playing havoc with the citizens on the pretext of creating harmony among them. Astonishingly, the district Nazim, who was supposed to supervise the law and order situation and promote peace and tranquillity among the religious circles, never bothered to take stock of the situation or issue appropriate orders to the police for ensuring that the people of the district were not put to difficulty under some excuse. The mysterious reticence on his part encouraged the local police chief to exploit the situation. The crime control and peace committees were constituted almost six months ago and a formal notification of their formation was also issued by the district police chief despite the fact that no law empowered him to set up such bodies. The issue of crime control and peace committees was repeatedly discussed in various sessions of the District Council in the presence of the district Nazim. The council members criticizing the move alleged that these bodies were dominated by police touts who were robbing innocent people by getting them implicated in cases with the connivance of the police. The members questioned the setting up of such committees by the local police chief and termed his action abuse of power. They regretted that the Nazim, who was bound to intervene in such a situation, had never bothered to come to the rescue of the poor people who had been virtually made hostage by the so-called committee members. They claimed that miseries of the citizens were further aggravated when the entire police hierarchy did not entertain any complaint of the aggrieved persons against the excesses of the so-called custodians of peace and harmony. The gravity of the law and order situation and the tension prevailing in mosques and other religious institutions can be judged from the fact that as many as 20 mosques and four Imambargahs are currently lying sealed by the police at the whim and demand of district peace committee chairman Pir Mohammed Ibrahim. A number of complaints were moved by representatives of various sections of society and religious circles to the higher authorities about the alleged objectionable role of the district peace committee and its chairman. These complaints said all sections of Faisalabad whether belonging to the class of religious scholars, traders or politicians, live in perfect harmony. This city is devoid of all religious and lingual factionalism. But this harmonious condition is not palatable to the mischief mongers, whose key leaders are members of the so-called district peace committee, and majority of its members enjoy a bad reputation, morally and religion-wise. All over the country, the chairman of the peace committee at the district level is invariably the DCO, DPO or the district Nazim. Why then has an exception been made in the case of Faisalabad by making Pir Ibrahim the district peace committee chief? Allegedly, the so-called chairman of the district peace committee misses no opportunity of closing down mosques on flimsy excuses and extracting money from the committee members. Jamia Masjid Madni, Samanabad, which is one of the biggest mosques of the district, had been closed for the last couple of months due to a tussle between Pir Ibrahim and some mosque committee members. According to the area people, Pir Ibrahim is deducting thousands of rupees every month as his share from the donations given to the mosque. This issue was earlier raised in the Punjab Assembly and law minister Raja Basharat had assured the house that the mosque would be opened within seven days. But no positive step by the police or the administration has so far been taken. Despite such allegations, no government functionary has taken cognizance of the matter. One wonders when there is no provision in the devolution plan and the Police Order for the constitution of such committees, under what authority were they allowed to operate in the district and harass the people. Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)
