LED by the army, the Rajanpur operation against criminal gangs has shown up the severe shortcomings of Punjab’s police force. Seven policemen were killed by criminal elements last week, while 24 were taken hostage.

Had the police been capable of meeting the challenge, the army might have taken a backseat. Indeed, for such an operation, law enforcement, and not military force, is the most effective tool. Instead, the absurdly weak police performance, that failed to control the agility of the criminal network, has raised several questions.

For instance, how did Punjab’s riverine belt become a sanctuary for well-equipped outlaws in the Sharif heartland?

Was it powerful patronage, lack of an efficient criminal justice system, or the ineptitude of the provincial government that refused to touch criminal gangs? And why did four operations in the past fail to apprehend the gangsters?

Politicisation of the force is at the root of these problems, and the remedy lies in reforming the police structure through merit-based recruitment, investment in training and modernisation, bridging the institutional disconnect and addressing corruption.

While overall reform is essential, given the evolving tactics of various militant and criminal groups there is also a need to raise specialised police units. In recruiting for the latter, careful selection of police officers, training and incentives are needed.

According to former police officials, most anti-criminal operations, whether in Sindh or Punjab, have been undertaken by a mix of semi-trained or ill-trained policemen — no wonder the success rate in tackling crime has been low.

Elite police units must not be diverted from intelligence-led counter-terrorism operations to VIP security, or else they will lose their efficacy as was the case with Punjab’s Elite Force in the 1990s. This is surely something to consider as the newly inducted Lahore Dolphin Force prepares to take on street crime.

In a time of specialised criminality, rethinking police structures is essential, but this must go hand in hand with regaining the public’s trust through responsible and responsive policing that is absent in most provinces.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2016