ISLAMABAD: A key post in the Islamabad police, that of the senior superintendent of police (operation) (SSP), has been vacant for almost six months.

The workload of the office is being shared between the inspector general of police (IGP), deputy inspector general of police (operation) (DIG) and assistant superintendent of police (security) operation (ASP).

Because of this, citizens in need of police assistance do not know who to approach, and police operations — particularly when it comes monitoring field and operational work and performance — has also been affected.

SSP operation responsible for field, operation matters, dealing with public grievances

Senior police officers who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the IGP and DIG are administrative heads whose job is to make policies and look after the welfare of the police force. DIGs and assistant inspector generals of police (AIG) are assistants to the IGP, with little to do with field and operation work.

The SSP operation is the field and operational in-charge of the district’s police force, they said, whose job is policing and decision-making. The SSP operation approves the registration and quashing of cases, appoints investigators, transfers investigations and appoints station house officers.

They said that although there has not been a major law and order situation capital for a couple of months, and police high-ups claim to have reduced crime in the city, the SPP is responsible for crime deduction and prevention and dealing with the public, including addressing their grievances and reservations regarding complaints about the police.

The SSP is also responsible for checks and balances at police stations, circles and zones when it comes to decisions, policing, performance and public dealing. Since the SSP operation office has been vacant, this mechanism has not been addressed.

The officers said that incidents of police highhandedness and abuse of power have surfaced regularly in the last couple of months. Citizens are victimised at police stations, they express reservations over police investigations and run from pillar to post to lodge complaints and register cases, they said.

Typically, their complaints would be lodged with the SSP. But people who visit the office have found it vacant, and while some have approached the DIG or IGP, most have not been able to get assistance from the police.

They added that most people are unaware of the police portal service available to them. Despite this, the service is flooded with complaints — particularly when it comes to refusals to entertain complaints lodged to register cases, especially for crimes against property.

In one such case in May, officers said, the father of a 10-year-old girl who was abducted and was found murdered a few days later was humiliated at a police station for three days as he tried to register a case about his daughter’s disappearance.

A case was registered against four police officials with the Shahzad Town police station, and the SHO, investigation officer and station clerk (moharrar) were later dismissed from service.

The same month, the Golra police SHO and an assistant sub-inspector were booked under criminal charges and arrested on Islamabad High Court orders for illegally detaining teenagers. Also in May, the Noon police SHO was suspended for delaying the registration of a case regarding the disappearance of an eight-year-old boy.

The Industrial Area SHO was suspended for abusing his power to register a robbery case against a rival, the officers added.

They said he also abducted his son’s business partner and made him sign black affidavits at gunpoint when he served as the Sihala SHO.

In July, they said, the Bhara Kahu SHO was suspended over allegations that he was working with drug dealers and peddlers. A sub-inspector at the Lohi Bher police station was suspended — the SHO, duty officer and moharrar were spared — for refusing to register a case and forcing the complainant to compromise with the suspect the same month.

The father of a four-year-old who survived sexual assault and attempted murder has also expressed reservations regarding the police’s investigation into the case, and asked police high-ups to reinvestigate.

IGP Mohammad Amir Zulfikar Khan, DIG Operation Waqaruddin Syed and police spokesperson AIG Sardar Ghias Gul Khan could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts since Thursday.

When contacted, a senior police officer told Dawn that in practice, the prime minister selects the IGP and SSP operation of the Islamabad police. However, under the last PPP and PML-N governments, these posts were filled by interior ministers.

A request was sent to the interior minister in February with recommendations, including to appoint an officer of the Islamabad police as the SSP operation, he said. The ministry posted an SSP operation, but the Prime Minister’s Office stopped the implementation of the order the very next day.

The Prime Minister’s Office argued that the officer in question was in grade 18, whereas SSP operation is a grade 19 post. The official said that there were some issues with the officer, as a former minister had reportedly managed to have him posted to Hafizabad before the 2018 election because they both belonged to the same city.

While electioneering, the prime minister had even alleged that the Hafizabad district police officer was seeking votes for the ruling party at the time.

The senior police officer said police high-ups have not taken any serious steps to appoint an SSP operation since February.

He said the grip senior administrative officers have over field and operation matters will be weakened when an SSP operation is appointed, and they want an officer at the post who will suit them.

Another officer told Dawn that a request was recently sent to the Establishment Division to appoint an SSP operation, with five to six suggestions for the post by police high-ups.

Most of the suggested officers work in Punjab and served with the IGP Islamabad, he said.

He added that a few officers were approached and asked if they were willing to take over the post, but most of them declined and expressed unwillingness to work with the current setup.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2019