THERE is no reason the image and performance of the police force would not improve if the piece of advice given by Prime Minister Imran Khan to the Inspector-General Police (IGP) Punjab Inam Ghani is implemented in letter and in spirit. However, this is not a one way traffic and both the Government and the Police will have to work together to achieve the desired results as improvement would remain a far off cry if required resources are not provided.
It is rightly stated and believed that most of the problems of the society and the country can be resolved if we have truly professional, motivated and honest police force but the cherished goal could not be achieved during the last over seven decades mainly because of lack of commitment on the part of the successive governments. PTI Government too vowed to carry out reforms in the Punjab Police and in fact, a move was made to that end by appointing an IG who was closely associated with a similar process in the KP but the plan faltered for reasons not fully known. The Prime Minister has identified some of the reasons behind poor performance and image of the Police including political appointments but we have seen no movement towards introduction of transparency in this regard during the last two and a half years while frequent transfers and postings of police officers/officials are reflective of continued political interference in the working of the force. One would fully agree that appointment of honest officials at important positions has its impact from top to the grassroots level but when and who will ensure postings and transfers on the basis of merit only to ensure dispensation of justice. Again, the Prime Minister has emphasized the need for use of modern technology to curb crime but this task obviously cannot be undertaken without provision of required financial resources, which we are unable to commit. Introduction of technology also requires proper and intensive training of the personnel and one is not sure whether the majority of the personnel have the capacity to adapt to new technology given the level of their qualifications and aptitude. Apart from all this, a crusade should be launched to weed out the corrupt from the police force and future inductions should be made on the basis of merit and merit alone and personal integrity.
