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KARACHI, July 16: Confusion prevailed in the rank and file of police here on the first day of the implementation of the new police system as there were no written directives from the authorities about the merger of police administrative towns and about the fate of those TPOs whose towns were merged on Monday.
Many police officers who spoke to Dawn on condition of anonymity said they did not know who was going to be posted where, and where they would sit, and what they would be responsible for. They claimed they did not have written orders from the high-ups.
Rubbishing such assertions, City Police Chief Azhar Ali Farooqui said: “There is no confusion at all within the police. However, outsiders may be confused as they were familiar with the old system and they will take time to get familiar with the new one.”
No homework done
Contesting the claim of their commander, many police officers said the new system was being implemented in haste without any homework having been done. They said the system could have been implemented in phases, or it could be put into practice after a notification was issued about the postings of all supervisory police officers and new town police officers. Only a notification about the appointment of new DIGs was issued and the system was implemented, sowing confusion in the police force, they added.
Mr Farooqui said: “The system is working. The TPOs are working and sub-divisional police officers will also work until written orders are issued about the appointments of SPOs, who will replace the SDPOs and town investigation officers (TIOs). As the system is there and we have only carried out some jurisdiction changes in it,” he said. “There is neither any confusion nor mismanagement.”
He said that a decision was taken to appoint a superintendent of police of Grade-18 in the towns which had been merged and the orders would be issued by Tuesday morning. Four police administrative towns were merged with other towns. The Site town was merged with the Baldia town, the Orangi town with the North Nazimabad town, the Korangi town with the Landhi town, and the Malir Town with the Bin Qasim Town.
Police officers of the ranks of ASP and DSP said that they were being given a newly created post of SPO, but there were many questions unanswered, which had bewildered them. They said that they would supervise operations and investigation affairs of two police stations and would sit in one of them. There were only one police mobile van available at many police stations and if an SPO would use it, how the operation branch would carry out patrolling in their respective areas. It was a common problem which had not been addressed so far, they added.
Who will write ACRs?
Besides, they asked as to who would write their annual confidential reports (ACRs) as they would report to their bosses in the operations and investigation wings simultaneously. If it was decided that their ACRs would be written by the TPO of the town where an SPO was posted, he would be more obliging to the TPO instead of the SSP or DIG of investigation, which ultimately would have a bad impact on the performance of one branch. However, they hoped that the appointment of SPO level officers might bring about a favourable change in “thana” culture.
Apart from appointment of SPOs, the Grade-17 TPOs of the merged towns are also confused and they do not know what their future responsibilities are. They do not have clear orders whether they should continue as TPOs or what they should do.
The impact was felt at police station levels where officials of the operation and investigation wings were using delaying tactics while entertaining complainants, saying that the system was being changed and things would take time to settle down after which proper work would start.
