With counterterrorism weighing most on its mind, the government has been raising new forces and offering them better salaries, training and other facilities. But the traditional police, it seems, are expected to be unflinching partners in the fight against terrorists on their same old funding and logistics.

Policemen too need – but lack – good living conditions and food. It is essential for the physical and mental alertness of a fighting force.

These become absolute essentials when they are deployed on “special duties”, which could be anything from controlling riots in other districts to watching over elections or disasters away from their home base.

Recently, one such call of duty created an embarrassing situation for Punjab’s police department when more than 1,000 trainees of the Police College Sihala were ordered to assist Rawalpindi, Chakwal and Attock police forces in maintaining law and order during Muharram processions.

Though the security agencies saw no specific threat of sectarian violence on the occasion, unspecific terror threats were high at that time. So high that the army and rangers were also called in to bolster security during the sensitive Ashura period.

Luckily nothing bad happened during Muharram.

But the treatment the reinforcements from Sihala Police College met in Rawalpindi left them bitter.

Several police officers said they were left thirsty, hungry and uncared for by their host on the day they reported for special duty.

“On reaching Rawalpindi, we were driven straight to Sadiqabad area and put on security duty of a Muharram procession in the afternoon. No food or water was served to them,” said one police official.

Once the procession ended peacefully, he said his contingent waited for police transport to take them to their lodging quarters. “But neither any vehicle came nor any food,” recalled an Assistant Sub-Inspector. “Exhausted, and groaning under our riot gear, we eventually hired vans and taxis to go back to Sihala to eat and rest.”

Instead, to their horror, they were ordered to return to Rawalpindi and report to the DSP Headquarters for a briefing on their next assignment – to protect the main procession of 10th Muharram.

And that’s what they did, some on empty stomachs and others after a rice dish “not fit for human consumption.”

But their seething anger was enough for someone to “bring the matter in the knowledge of the Inspector General of Police Punjab, Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera.” One version claimed that a text message from the hungry lot to the Regional Police Officer Mohammad Sultan Raja did the trick.

However, the host city police blamed the fiasco on “a tussle between the Rawalpindi district police and the administration of Police College Sihala.”

RPO Raja feels the college administration should have fed their contingent before putting them on buses for Rawalpindi. Other city police sources claimed that the college authorities instead told the contingent to carry nothing except their riot gear as the Rawalpindi police will provide them lodging and food.

A college spokesperson retorted that the Sihala College was not responsible for the lodging and food for the extra police force. “The Rawalpindi police were to provide all that,” he said.

IGP Sukhera told Dawn that “this sort of complaint was brought to my knowledge and an inquiry was initiated.”

When, and whether, the findings of the inquiry, being conducted by SP Crime Rawalpindi division Sikandar Hayat, will be made public is a moot question. But, police sources say sufficient funds were released to Rawalpindi police to meet the Muharram security duties. An independent audit can help bring out the truth.

After all, more events needing extra police for “special duties” are on the way, as close as November 19 when local body elections are to be held in Attock and Jhelum.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2015

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