Pakistan’s police force is incapable of combating crime, upholding the law or protecting citizens and the state against militant violence. This research from International Crisis Group argues that it is vital for the newly elected government to institute police reforms. Elected representatives will be held accountable if citizens continue to see the police as brutal and corrupt. The democratic transition could falter if deteriorating security gives the military a new opportunity to intervene. Major reforms and reallocation of resources are required to create an effective and accountable police service.
In 1999, President Pervez Musharraf claimed that national security and the need to strengthen democracy justified his coup. Police reform was to form a part of the military government’s devolution scheme. In 2002, he drew up the Police Order, which, if properly implemented, could have been an important step towards reforming a dysfunctional police organisation. Yet, like other pledges of good governance made by Musharraf, police reform was sacrificed for political expediency. Amendments to the Police Order have watered down provisions that held some promise of reform, including mechanisms for civilian accountability and internal discipline, as well as guarantees for autonomy and safeguards against political interference in the posting, transfer and promotion of police officials.
The new elected government has inherited a police force that is corrupt, arrogant and abuses human rights. It suppressed Musharraf’s civilian opposition, carried out extrajudicial killings, torture and election rigging.
- The police are used to being a political pawn, with promotions and transfers rewarding those willing to follow orders and punishing the few officers who dared to challenge their military masters.
- The police and the intelligence agencies under police control lack the resources needed to tackle internal threats and crime.
- Very few public safety commissions, which were supposed to be the cornerstone of the accountability process, have been established. Those that have been established lack enforcement mechanisms.
With public confidence in the police at an all-time low, reform will be difficult and require patience and resources. Nevertheless, as militant violence reaches new heights, the government at national and regional levels cannot ignore this task.
The Government of Pakistan should:
- give the police and their affiliated intelligence organisations primary responsibility for internal security and greater capacity to do the job, thereby rebuilding police morale, and working towards reducing corruption and increasing efficiency;
- settle the legal status of the Police Order. Make the police more accountable and protect them from political manipulation;
- improve police performance and redress public grievances by empowering managerial bodies, facilitating the implementation of genuine community policing and appointing an independent police ombudsman;
- ensure greater female presence in the police by increasing the number of female police stations, authorising women police officers to register and investigate cases, and by improving their standards of training;
- end military interference in police affairs by various means including abolishing the military’s 10 per cent reserved quota of positions in the police.
The International Community, particularly the U.S. and the European Union should:
- Increase security-related assistance and strengthen counter-terrorism capabilities of the police and civilian security organisations. Institute and help modernise training programs for police officers, emphasising community policing techniques.
