BY: SYED IHTISHAM BUKHARI
In Pakistani society, the culture of force has always been the necessity of
influential elites and rich people. In the past, a limited group of rich and
influential people of society as a sign of their power, influence, and to keep
innocent public intimidated would hire criminals and use them to fulfil their
legal or illegal deeds. Due to the emergence of private security companies the
private sectors such as businesses, shops, schools, private offices, and houses
have started hiring private security guards to protect their interests.
Presently across Pakistan, the trend is drastically changed from hiring
criminals and gangsters to hiring official policemen (OPM) as personal security
guards. While having influence or acquaintance in the police department the rich
and influential can hire legal police force for their illegal activities such as
land grabbing. In the current times, not only the rich and influential elites
but the land grabbers’ mafia (LGM) by themselves hires government officials from
police department in the name of personal security for nothing else but to
harass innocent people and to full fill their illegal demands through legal
force.
Due to rise of uncertainty across the country there are hundreds of privately
registered companies in the country that provide security guards to businesses
such as banks, shops, private offices, schools, and houses, for their security
on monthly pay role and can be hired as many personnel's as a person or an
organization can afford. The business of private security companies is booming
and minting money from public in the name of security regardless of their
unprofessional training and substandard services. However, the powers of private
security guards are limited and they cannot be used for the purpose of
harassment and land grabbing thus useless for influential as well as criminally
minded people such as LGM.
On the other hand, there are official security guards of the police department
provided by the Government of Pakistan to perform security duties of
politicians, well-known businessmen, high officials, legislators, religious
personalities, social figures as well as a highly influential, rich and
privileged class of the society. The procedure of hiring an official policeman
as a personal guard is very simple for influential elites and even LGM
individuals however, quite complicated and difficult for those people who do not
have influence or acquaintance in the office of IGP, CCPO or SP/SSP operations.
The influential elites of the society by writing an application to one of the
above-mentioned police officers and mentioning a fake threat and agree to pay
10% extra to Government on top of the monthly salary of a OPM can hire as many
official security guards as they can afford. Acquiring the services of OPM as a
personal guard by unauthorized persons is not only illegal, unfair and unjust
with innocent public and the police department itself but also a clear violation
of the fundamental rights provided in Article 3 of the Constitution of the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan which provides that "The State shall ensure the
elimination of all forms of exploitation and the gradual fulfillment of the
fundamental principle, from each according to his ability, to each according to
his work. The official duty of police is to protect the lives and interests of
the public and provide them with social security, maintain public order, enforce
the law, prevent, detect, and investigate criminal activities not to become
enforcers of the LGM and rich influential people to harass and terrorize public
and grab their properties for them.
Like other cities of the country, the same trend is on its peak in KPK mainly in
Peshawar, where the rich, influential, and LGM have also availed the facility
provided by the Government of Pakistan through its police department and even
some have hired up to five officials and freely roaming in the city and
harassing innocent public. For instance, some members of a very prominent LGM
group headed by a retired government official and the decedents of a deceased
political personality residing in Pawaka, Peshawar, have hired OPM and using
them in the same area i.e. Pawaka and University Town, Peshawar, to intimidate
innocent people and grab their properties or to force them for payment of
extortion. According to Article 24 (1) of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan "No
person shall be deprived of his property save in accordance with law" but
instead to improve the law and order situation, provide safety and security to
the lives and properties of public from criminals and LGM the same police force
has become a useful tool for LGM to put undue pressure on the innocent public
and grab their lands.Furthermore, the police officers seem to have become silent
spectators or have no knowledge of Section-3(1) of the Illegal Dispossession Act
2005 which provides that “Prevention of illegal possession of property, etc. (1)
No one shall enter into or upon any property to dispossess, grab, control of
occupy it without having any lawful authority to do so with the intention to
dispossess, grab, control or occupy the property from owner or occupier of such
property”.Moreover, land grabbing is considered a serious crime in Pakistan and
also punishable under Section-3 (2) of the same Act which provides that “Whoever
contravenes the provisions of the sub-section (1) shall, without prejudice to
any punishment to which he may be liable under any other law for the time being
in force, be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to ten years and with
fine and the victim of the offence shall also be compensated in accordance with
the provisions of section-544 of the Criminal Procedure Code. It is necessary to
mention here that some members of the same LGM are allegedly affiliated with a
banned Jihadi group and spreading terror among the residents of the vicinity.
Moreover, a few months back the members of this LGM group had brutally beaten an
innocent young orphan with the help of five hired OPM on his refusal to pay the
extortion. In addition, this LGM group due to having acquaintance and influence
in the police department the innocent citizen even could not register F.I.R
against them which is also the violation of Article 10-A of the Constitution of
the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
All in all, official police guards are being misused by the influential elites
and land grabbers mafia lawfully for their illegal and unlawful deeds. The main
objective of police is to provide safety and security to the lives and
properties of the public but instead, due to their high up's they are harassing
the public and grabbing their lands for land grabbers mafia. The police shall
become the security guard of the general public and full fill their official
duty for what they are paid by the Government. The policemen serving as security
guards of unauthorized people should immediately be recalled to their official
duties in the best interest of the public. The Government is requested to
formulate a policy in this regard to prevent police officials from serving the
influential elites and land grabber’s mafia in the future. An investigation
should also be conducted in this matter to find out the responsible officers for
violating the fundamental rights of the 1973 Constitution of The Islamic
Republic of Pakistan.