WITH the killing of Inspector Ghazanfar Kazmi last month, Karachi Police lost one of its finest. The slain officer had risen through the ranks the hard way, and lost his life in what has unfortunately become a commonplace tragedy for cops in this city. Some 116 policemen have already been killed this year, a truly alarming state of affairs.

The police in Sindh, particularly in Karachi, have been relentlessly targeted ever since the proactive policing operation was launched in the city a year ago. The campaign against the force has been orchestrated by non-state actors/militants because their dens and criminal activities have been hard hit by law-enforcement agencies spearheaded by the police in an operation seen by many as having achieved some success.

Karachi is a megacity with multiple problems; land-grabbing, vice dens, human smuggling rackets, extortion, street crime, kidnapping for ransom — the city has seen it all. While the performance of police personnel has no doubt left much to be desired with regard to eliminating this menace, the Karachi police deserve kudos for the operation against the terrorist elements in the city.

However, the police force have paid a heavy price for their role in this intelligence-led operation with a number of personnel losing their lives in the line of duty and, even more so, off duty. Areas in the west of Karachi, as well as parts of Korangi, and Malir districts have proved particularly dangerous in this respect. Although authorities have had some success in countering such attacks by arresting the suspects and busting the gangs they belong to, the situation is still far from satisfactory.

The police haven’t been trained to counter the rise of terrorism.

There are a number of reasons for this. Our constabulary, unlike our counterparts in the army and Rangers, lives amongst the community, depending largely upon its goodwill. Our personnel are clearly distinguishable from their appearance, they do not have secure means of commuting to and from work.

Off duty they have a life whereby they need to go to open markets for shopping, drop their children to schools, take their spouses to hospitals, etc which renders them extremely vulnerable. On duty, they have the onerous tasks of guarding important places, keeping an eye on criminal elements in the area, and also investigating sensitive cases. The latter function of the police has been a factor in some investigators losing their lives.

Late officer Kazmi had also been receiving threats for a few years now. He was killed by a group of hired assassins, freely roaming the city.

The Sindh Police have taken certain measures to enhance safety for those among the force that are most at risk. Apart from launching crackdowns in areas where potential attackers find refuge, the department has issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) that outlines security precautions for working policemen. However, in the view of many, the officers themselves are ultimately responsible for ensuring their personal safety.

Some other initiatives include relocation of the majority of police families from the city’s troubled areas to comparatively safer locations. Providing smaller arms to on-duty cops so that they can react more effectively to attacks against them has also been under discussion.

Countless police personnel have fallen since Karachi witnessed a surge in violence dating back to the mid 1980s. In the last four decades or so, this megacity has had its share of problems. Be it communal and ethnic violence, turf wars amongst different mafia, or political tussles over control of the city, the populace of this beleaguered city has been at the mercy of an assortment of rival groups with varied agendas.

The Sindh Police also offers a posthumous package for its slain policemen whereby the department looks after the needs of the heirs. This includes a job in the department for the son/brother, a compensatory amount and continuation of the victim’s salary until he or she would have reached the age of superannuation. Nevertheless, there is a lot more that can be done.

The loss of a policeman is irreparable for any police force, in terms of manpower, experience and the resources invested in training him. To be sure, the force’s sacrifices have not gone unnoticed and the authorities have acknowledged this. But what the culture of law enforcement truly needs at this point is a morale-boosting injection through enhanced technological support and better staffing.

The police have always been trained to fight and detect conventional crime rather than terrorism. The rise of terrorism presents a new challenge for which the force was never traditionally trained. This new challenge calls for new training methods. We therefore have a monumental task at hand if we wish to counter this rising threat. For the moment though, the situation as it exists is a very demoralising one for the force.

The writer is an officer in the Police Service of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2014