THERE are plenty of police checkposts in Islamabad. I have read that approximately 72 fixed checkposts and 300 unplanned checkposts exist in the capital territory.

We are reminded, when stuck in traffic congestion caused by these numerous checkposts, that this is done for our security.

The city will be a safer place as long as a man in a police uniform flashes a torch in my face when I zigzag through the maze he has set up to test my driving skills. I don’t intend to contradict this assumption.

However, I will ask some basic questions that I believe as a citizen I am entitled to ask. Are these policemen equipped to tackle terrorists, armed robbers and suicide bombers who drive by them? How many criminals have been caught because of these security checkposts?

Is it justifiable that during the rush hour, with bumper-to-bumper traffic at these posts, there happens to be no policeman even present? Most importantly, is it permissible that most of the time cars with only young boys, mass-transportation vans, or a boy and a girl are harassed for money? How is it that a girl and a boy travelling in the same car (even if they are related) become a security threat to this nation?

I will reiterate that perhaps this is the most efficient form of security, so has this resulted in our city and its citizens becoming safer because, if anything, they have made our daily life more difficult ?

Alima Amjad

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play