Reforming the police

In a damning indictment of the abuse of power by the police, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has recently come out with a report on the excesses of the law enforcement body in southern Punjab.

Citing specific cases of atrocities, the HRCP has observed that the Police Order 2002, aimed at reforming and regulating a much despised force, has been unable to foster a sense of security among the people. That really should not come as a surprise to anyone.

For, much like the other provinces, Punjab, too, has yet to implement all the reforms contained in the ordinance. Unfortunately, there are few signs of that happening in the country, and it is feared that further delay could hamper efforts to transform the police into an effective, modern and people-friendly force.

Such a view is backed by a recent report in this paper, saying that the president is to chair a meeting aimed at sorting out difficulties posed by the enforcement of the order. Earlier, he had intervened to allay provincial fears of a divestment of powers and agreed to some amendments to the relevant law.

Then there were complaints about the lack of funds and the inordinate delay in the setting up of public safety commissions that have also become a subject of controversy.

The result is that two years after the repeal of the Police Act of 1861 and the promulgation of a new set of rules, we are still held back by our colonial mode of law enforcement that stands in the way of genuine reforms, including reorientation of training and outlook, minimum standards of education for recruits, modern methods of crime prevention and control, accountability and safeguards against the abuse of the police force for political victimization.

True, any plan for large scale reform and restructuring - especially of an institution disfigured by years of mismanagement and corruption - will face multiple problems.

However, to be discouraged by this, and to fail to act on the changes needed to create a force better able to deal with the worsening law and order problem will make things only worse.

There is a downside to the recent ordinance that has its share of critics, but there are many aspects, especially that of police accountability, that must be implemented without delay.

Once enforcement is underway and a system of checks and balances is in place to curb police excesses, it would be easier to address many of the genuine grievances of the police - a salient point that has, surprisingly, not occasioned much discussion.

These include an indifferent recruitment pattern, low salaries, poor living conditions and long working hours for most personnel, many of whom resort to bribes and other corrupt practices to make a quick buck.

This issue cannot be viewed in isolation from that of police powers and accountability. It is very much part of the package, for as long as there is no meaningful overhaul of the existing recruitment procedures, pay structures and living conditions, police excesses will continue.

Enlightened and educated officers, selected on the basis of merit alone, can make a vital difference to the working norms and performance of the force. To be meaningful, the reforms must embrace all essential aspects of the make-up, training orientation and job satisfaction of the police force.

Clarke's sound advice

Mr Richard Clarke's reaction to the findings of the 9/11 commission and his recommendations deserve to be taken note of. Writing in The New York Times, the former counter-terrorism chief has pleaded for a new American approach towards Muslim countries.

Specifically, he has advocated more economic aid and has called for the establishment of a pan-Islamic council consisting of ulema and secular leaders to promote the cause of political openness in the Islamic world.

More important, he has called for restarting the Arab-Israeli peace process. His plea should sound bizarre to those quarters in the Bush administration which have thoroughly bungled the war on terror and given it a turn that has proved counter-productive.

Even though Baghdad was not at all involved with 9/11 and did not possess weapons of mass destruction, policy-makers in Washington unleashed America's military might against Iraq.

In addition, not a day passes without someone in the Bush administration hurling threats against Syria and Iran - primarily for Israel's benefit in an election year. No wonder, America's standing in the Muslim world should be "low", as pointed out by Mr Clarke.

No issue has done more to identify the US with Israel in Muslim eyes than the Palestinian question, for Washington's support to Tel Aviv has been total. Pandering to the wishes of the powerful Zionist lobby in the US, American support to Israel has been based on expediency and has tended to ignore the moral and legal aspects of the Palestine question.

The issue in Palestine is the continued occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including Al Quds. America lent support to Israel even when it violated the Oslo accords and reneged on its pledge to withdraw from occupied territories.

More astonishingly, President Bush has repudiated the new peace process he unveiled last April. He first declared that Israel would retain "some" land, and then he said that the year 2005 for the coming into being of a Palestinian state was unrealistic.

Unless America adopts a policy that is not overly pro-Israel, there will be little chance that the vast majority of Muslim masses will regard America as a friend.

Arrests in Gujrat

The arrest of four foreigners among 13 militants from a Gujrat city neighbourhood has added a new and worrying dimension to the threat posed by terrorists in the country.

This is the first time that militants have been spotted in a smaller Punjab town; earlier raids had apprehended such elements only in bigger cities like Lahore and Faisalabad.

The Punjab police have not revealed the nationalities of the arrested foreigners but it is believed that they are of Arab and African origin, and were sheltered by their Pakistani sympathizers. Holed up inside a house in Gujrat, they put up a 16-hour-long armed resistance before security forces were able to storm the house and make arrests.

That the militants were living in Pakistan with their families, including women and children, and the fact that they relocated to Gujrat some six weeks ago from a tribal area, should also raise serious questions about the destinations of those fleeing, for instance, the on-going military action in South Waziristan.

Intelligence about the movement of people crossing over from the tribal belt obviously needs to be stepped up. The government should also make a greater effort to inform and warn the people about the possible presence of militants in their immediate neighbourhoods.

The warning must extend to those who may otherwise, and perhaps innocently, rent out their houses or vehicles to such elements. The government, like its Saudi counterpart, should also consider a general amnesty for all foreigners living illegally in Pakistan, and urge them to come forward and register themselves with the authorities concerned.

The Gujrat incident should serve as a warning for necessary precautions about the presence of terrorist elements, both local and foreign, in the country.