KARACHI, Sept 7: Over 50 per cent of the city police stations’ telephone lines face suspension due to the non-payment of dues, while the Pakistan State Oil has stopped serving police vehicles because of defaults on bills, Dawn has learnt.
The crisis is due to delays in the release of funds and administrative bottlenecks, which sources attribute to the ill-planned reorganisation of the city policing system in July.
Under the structural changes announced by the Inspector-General of the Sindh Police, Ziaul Hasan, the city was divided into three administrative zones.
The operational towns were reduced from 19 to 16, with Landhi, North Nazimabad and SITE towns merged with Korangi, Orangi and Baldia towns respectively.
“This has led to delays and growing administrative hurdles,” said a source close to the process, “since the authorities replaced the positions, designations and authority of officers without defining certain areas of authority or announcing the mechanism for the release of funds.”
Defaults on bills
In the South, West and East zones, a number of connections have already been disconnected by the operators – the Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) and the National Telecommunication Corporation – until the outstanding sums are paid.
“The East and South zones are in the worst situation since nearly 64 police stations have been without telephone facilities for a couple of months,” said a senior official on the condition of anonymity. “There is no shortage of funds but procedural issues have delayed payments.” Zone West is in similarly dire straits, where according to a senior official, nearly half of the total 29 police stations face disconnection.
Another source, who was close to the July process of reorganisation, told Dawn that the new police structure is believed to be the main cause. “Earlier, town police officers (TPOs) took up almost all procedural and administrative matters with the high-ups,” he said. “However, the new organisational set-up does not define any such authority of the officials and no mechanism for the release of funds has been announced.”
A senior official said that the disconnected phone lines were unlikely to become operational soon, since the definition of each position’s authority is believed essential before funds are released. The officers in the affected police stations complain, meanwhile, of serious hurdles in routine operations since they do not receive cellphone allowances.
Out of fuel
Concurrently, Pakistan State Oil has stopped catering to city police vehicles since the Karachi police has defaulted on payments, said a source in the police department. Station house officers are providing the fuel for running their stations’ police mobiles and are in addition providing for the cars of senior police officers.
Requesting anonymity, the senior police official told Dawn that policing has been badly affected by the supply shortages and the incidence of street crimes is increasing. “Naturally, an SHO will give priority to filling up the vehicle of his superior officer instead of catering to the police mobile,” he remarked, attributing the problems to the police hierarchy’s lack of planning in implementing the new police system.