Honourable Mir Jamilur Rehman in his column appearing in Daily The News of 4 December 2004 says the most corrupt in Pakistan was the Police Department and most honest too. He explains how from the same called corrupt police people were picked up for establishing new Highway Police. He further says the officer commanding for this new force was picked up from the same corrupt called police. This commanding officer only took the responsibility with a condition that he would have a free hand to run the new force.. Mir Jamilur Rehman says how honestly almost within the same pay structure this Highway Police was working. We so often in these columns read letters to editor people praising Highway Police.
I have worked for 20 years abroad in Police Uniform. I started from the most lucrative income tax department in Pakistan. Just in a year I left before any spot could come on my face. I joined a corporation and served as Officer for 17 years. Wishing to own a house for old age I left for abroad now even after retirement I do not have the same because I am foolish. In my Police uniform abroad though I was at the level equal to a Non Commissioned Officer which was considered as a senior post but my posting incidentally was directly in the the Office of the Minister under whom the Police, Immigration, Coast Guard etc worked. Till end 1970s the 70% Police personnel (except for Officers) were Pakistani origin. Then due to increase of nationalism locals started coming in Police and number of Pakistanis came to stagnant. In addition to locals Syrians Indian etc also started coming. Till e my leaving in 2003 there were more than 2000/2500 Pakistanis still working there. There had been some little complaints about these Pakistanis Police personnel but mostly relating to a little indiscipline, fighting with each other, telling lies etc but not any major problem. The corruption in rigid terminology namely taking bribe from citizens never happened. A small ratio indulged into illegal activities but these limited to joining night clubs, doing private business after office hours etc. And for these reasons Pakistani personnel started getting a little disrespect after 1980 including the political hate that these expatriates should go back. In comparison Indians were more liked because they were by nature very submissive, humble and bore without any muttatering insulting abusive or biased remarks from seniors of local community.
There was one Unit 99% of which comprised Pakistanis. Its commander too was a Pakistan ex-army officer. The discipline, performance, loyalty towards duty of this Unit was an example in the country there. Never ever a single complaint about this Unit was ever heard of. Despite the fact that ratio of Pakistanis in Police generally started declining till my departure in 2003 in this Unit still 99% were Pakistanis as the concerned authorities are more than satisfactory with their performance.
In that foreign Police generally as a whole and in that particular Unit, Pakistanis are the same but the difference was the ability to command. The Commander of this unit used all his abilities to keep the Unit as it should be. The other commanders local officers could not keep or did not know how to keep control or use the men hence those complaints.
Raw material was the same but since the Commander of Highway Police was an able officer hence he used the raw material properly. There is no dirt of honest police personnel or officers in our Police Force. Only their image though rightly to a good extent has been tarnished. Secondly no government or any reconstruction bureau or any Reformer is ever honest to eradicate this corruption from Police. Reason being the day this corruption is stopped the rulers would not be able to use the Police Force for their own purposes. Do not blame the Police, blame the rulers, politicians and the system. If a Police official is hand cuffed and his senior suspended because the uniformed official dared checked the tinted glasses of a VIP or a cricketer can slap a police official for checking papers then do not talk of corruption in Police.