KARACHI: SHOs still being posted on political grounds
By S. Raza Hassan
KARACHI, Nov 30: Following the devolution of powers and introduction of reforms in different government departments, the government has replaced Police Act 1861 with the newly introduced Police Order 2002.
According to the new police laws, a police official, from the post of SHO to IGP, cannot be transferred from his post before a period of three years, provided a complaint is filed against him with the Public Safety Commission. The commission, after coming into existence, will decide the matter and dispose it of at the earliest.
Since the police order is yet to fully come into effect, in the absence of the safety commissions, the prevalent system of transfer and postings especially of the Station House Officers (SHOs) and Section Officers (SOs) of traffic police continues on political recommendations.
In Karachi, the capital city police chief, in violation of the concept of the Police Order, has reportedly concentrated all powers in his own hands instead of devolving it to his subordinates.
After being removed from posting, most of the station house officers face stoppage of smooth cash flow, as their undisclosed sources of income are discontinued at least for the time being. Local drug peddlers, vice and gambling dens, video-shops, cable operators and vendors are some of the known, but unofficial sources of income.
A few months back, a former SHO of Gulshan-i-Iqbal police station was told by his superior to close down a gambling den in his precincts after instructions from the ministers.
The SHO sought two days’ time from his superior to comply with his orders, as he wanted to collect the weekly payment from the den, he was finally removed from the post.
During the political governments, police high-ups face extraordinary pressures from different political quarters to post their candidates as SHO in various police stations.
To his misfortune, a former SHO of Gulistan-i-Jauhar police station apprehended a man with some girls somewhere in his police precincts. During questioning, the man identified himself as a relative of the top most government functionary. Consequently, no arrest was made.
However, a reporter and a photographer of an evening newspaper, who had also got a tip-off managed to reach the spot. # Finally, a deal was struck and the reporter was paid some amount to kill the story. However, after being left out of the deal, the photographer filed the picture, which got published the next afternoon.
Following the incident, the SHO was reportedly called by his superior to sit in the office almost the entire day. He finally escaped rather fled the premises in his car. Since then, he has been in hiding.
The SHO of Gulshan-i-Iqbal police station, SI Sohail Khan, was reportedly policing his jurisdiction well. He was using his own private vehicle, as the only mobile belonging to the police station was not in a good running condition. He was transferred after an incident of murder in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, as the victim hailed from the village of a senior police official.
Following the transfer of SI Sohail Khan, SHO Shahzada Saleem was called from Hyderabad and handed over the charge of Gulshan-i-Iqbal police station. However, he was recently suspended by the TPO Gulshan-i-Iqbal Abdul Khaliq Shaikh after a complainant died in the police station due to the maltreatment by an under training police constable.
Such instance can be seen at Samnabad police station, where SHO Ghulam Fareed has been enjoying his posting since 1998. Recently, the house of Mehdi Hasan was robbed by four armed men within the jurisdiction of Samnabad police station. Following the robbery, any other SHO would have definitely been removed from the post.
After remaining SHO Azizabad for several years, Shakir Ali was suspended after the target killing of seven persons in his jurisdiction recently.
SHO Khanzada enjoys the jurisdiction of Zaman Town police station for the last several years.
Inspector Anwer Husain Jafri, who was allegedly involved in the custodial killing of an activist, was briefly suspended. But, later he was posted as SHO Korangi Industrial Area.
