ISLAMABAD: Ranks of the anti-government protesters camped outside Parliament House for weeks have thinned to around 1,200 people in the PAT camp and 200 in the PTI camp, Islamabad police officers told Dawn on Thursday.

The thinning of the crowd has been quite visible. But the officers also made the surprising disclosure that the ranks of police have also thinned in the meantime – not just because of relocation but through desertions.

Almost 1,150 policemen have abandoned their duties since they were first deployed in the Red Zone on August 8 – 743 of them since September 1 alone.

All of them are being looked for in the cities of Punjab and Azad Kashmir, where their units were called in from, to deal with the emergency created by the PTI and PAT intrusion and sit-ins in the Red Zone.

More than 25,500 security personnel - 8667 of Islamabad police, 11,827 from Punjab, 942 from Railways police, 1,015 from Azad Kashmir Police, along with 3,000 men from the Frontier Constabulary and 225 Rangers - were deployed at D-Chowk and Constitution Avenue for law and order and security duties.

Some 400 of them deserted during the month of August.

Last month, 7,327 personnel of the Punjab police were sent back to their native districts for rescue operations in the flood-affected areas and security on Eidul Azha days. Likewise, the entire contingent of the Railways police was withdrawn.

Homesickness and long duty hours at the sit-ins have caused frustration among the police contingents called from outside. Some of them started behaving angrily and abnormally.

“Sometimes, they vented their frustration on innocent citizens, creating problems for the capital police who had no control over them,” sources said.

Two DSPs of the Islamabad police were the highest ranking deserters. “They and three inspectors are now officially being termed ‘deserters’. It was an immoral act on their part,” the police officers said, adding they set a bad precedent for the rank.

“We checked but there was no trace of them in Islamabad. It seems they went to their hometowns,” the officers said. Three sub-inspectors, an assistant sub-inspector, three head constables and 94 constables of the Islamabad police have also deserted since September 1.

Punjab police’s roll call of deserters included 138 from Lahore, 85 from Gujranwala, 67 from Faisalabad, 60 from Multan, 51 from Farooqabad, 49 from Rawalpindi, 36 from Gujrat, 31 from Sailkot, 28 from Toba Tak Sing, 27 from Bahalupur, 21 from Sahiwal, 16 from Shaikhupura, 12 from Chakwal, six from Sargodha and three Jhang.

Nine AJK policemen deserted between September 1 and October 9, the sources added.

Their hometown and district police they belonged to have been asked to trace them out. “So far none has been found,” the sources said.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad police have recommended “strict departmental action” against the deserters. Other deserters were the headache of the police force they belonged to.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2014