KARACHI Karachi - the transport and commerce hub of Pakistan, which generates more than half the national revenue - also has the lowest number of policemen per citizen in the region, a recent police study indicates.

The study suggests that the sanctioned strength of 34,155 law enforcersis below the required level and the authorities need to urgently review the security situation within the burgeoning metropolis, which is home to more than 16 million people.

In Karachi, there is a single policeman for the protection of the lives, property and legitimate interests of 571 people, said a source close to the study, highlighting the handicaps of the force.

If we go through the statistics of other mega-cities in the region, Karachi has the worst police-population ratio in the region, and even within the country.

In Lahore, he said a 30,946-strong sanctioned force was serving across the city, which suggested that a policeman looked after the lives and interests of 287 people, almost half the number assigned to a policeman in Karachi.

Two major cities of the region, which have similarities in living conditions and crime culture, are also far ahead in terms of police resources. In Mumbai, a policeman is meant to serve 357 people and in New Delhi, 241 citizens are the responsibility of a single law enforcer.

On the one hand, the alarmingly low number of sanctioned police force for Karachi has affected the overall performance of the department and, on the other, the lethargic process of fresh recruitments has also been a hurdle towards better policing.

More than 5,300 posts in the police have been lying vacant for more than a year, said the source. In January 2008, an advertisement for hiring police constables and assistant sub-inspectors was issued. The year is near its end but the process has not been completed.

Ultimately, he said, there was hardly a police station in the city that functioned with its sanctioned strength.Besides, more than 4,900 policemen from the available strength have been performing security duties of individuals, including politicians, legislators, higher government officials, businessmen, social figures and religious personalities.

If we follow the police-population ratio of Lahore, the Karachi police force should have more than 60,000 policemen for the protection of more than 16 million people, said the source.

People at the helm of affairs are aware that the force is not only short of strength but immensely ill-equipped. Along with fewer than the sanctioned number of policemen, they find more handicaps that affect the department's performance one way or another.

First, we need to make the force resourceful if we expect good results, said Capital City Police Officer Waseem Ahmed. The off and on political interference should come to an end and the working conditions should be made friendly for the policemen, who are performing one of the most sensitive jobs on earth.

He cited anti-police biases within the civil bureaucracy that affected the smooth working of the department, along with a lack of consistency in policies on handling law and order threats.

Currently, we have a crippled structure to address so many problems, including robberies, bank heists and street crime. First, we need to solve the problems the department has been facing in delivering the expected results, he added.