THE issue of police reforms is once again generating debate. Articles and letters have been contributed to newspapers by former police officers.

It is no surprise that despite failure of the Police Order 2002 on many counts, a partisan view of complete insulation of the police is being advanced.

I have had the first-hand observation and evaluation of police performance under both the systems. The policing under the previous system was more inclusive, less callous and more responsive to emergent situations. This was certainly due to the benign effect of district magistrate’s control.

The police order 2002 has miserably failed on two counts: promptness of police action in emergent situations and response to public grievances. The situation is starker in rural districts where human rights violations are very common.

It would be instructive to narrate two incidents of which I was privy to and which are a telling comment on the working of the two systems.

In 2004, a charged mob surrounded the office of medical superintendent of the DHQ Hospital, Kasur. After frantic calls by MS, the police did reach but refused to intervene and rescue him.

When the district police officer was requested to direct the police to take action, his reply was very apt: if the police intervene, the mob will get angrier and will retaliate against the police.

Ultimately help of local notables was sought to defuse the situation and save the life of MS, albeit after much damage to hospital property.

In the other incident, that too occurred in 2000, in Kasur, the then district magistrate reached the scene of the police encounter after hearing the wireless communication. The police had by then shot dead three persons.

The district magistrate saved the precious life of a school headmaster who had received four bullets. He was rushed to hospital.

Later, the injured and the deceased turned out to be innocent in the judicial enquiry.

The second incident may be an isolated one but the reaction of the police discussed in the first incident is quite common and has been painfully witnessed during recent power riots.

The police need to be given a reasonable measure of operational autonomy. However, in matters like illegal detention, police violence, non-registration of FIRs and in riots there should be a strong and neutral institutional oversight of the police.

Needless to say that repetition of the folly of safety commissions would cost the public dearly.

MUHAMMAD ZAMAN Lahore