Poor Police

It is budget time and demands by government servants are flying all around. Lowly-paid police personnel however cannot join the chorus because of the internal discipline of the force. What is more cruel is that they are called upon to put down violent protests by people demanding pay increase. It is a paradox for the policemen. They share the pain of the protesters but have to shower batons on them in the name of keeping law and order. Naturally, they feel frustrated that all they earn for their work in fighting crime, terrorism, disasters and emergencies is public sneers and a bad image.

Police officers claim the pay increases and fringe benefits occasionally announced by the federal government do not apply to the police department, especially the Islamabad police. This is extremely sad and our government needs to look at this matter very seriously.

—Islamabad