Who dares to blame the army even if they are our IG?
Who dares to blame the army even if they are our IG?
We were stripped and tortured in the police station. We were humiliated while, in response, the IG sir, in his video message, missed the favors done to the police. How nice that they would have stood by their police force after this incident.’ ‘No one wants to do duty here, including me. After seeing so many beatings and humiliation, the people will not be afraid of the police. Our leadership has let us down.’ These are the views of one of the policemen who was allegedly tortured by Pakistani Army personnel in ‘Thana Division A’ of Bahawalnagar district.
A week has passed since the incident of soldiers storming a police station in Bahawalnagar city of Punjab and torturing the police officers there. However, its resonance is still being heard on Pakistani media and social media. Several jawans and officers of the Punjab Police have spoken on condition of anonymity, according to whom the Bahawalnagar incident has greatly affected the morale of the police force.
It should be noted that on the day of Eid, several videos were shared on social media in which police personnel can be seen allegedly being subjected to torture in a police station in the Bahawalnagar district of Punjab.
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Two days after the incident, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of the Pakistan Army, the Punjab Government, and the Punjab Police announced a ‘transparent and joint investigation’ into the incident to bring out the facts. Those responsible for violating the law and abusing authority can be identified. And JIT has also been formed for this work. On this issue, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, while holding a press conference in Lahore, said once again, ‘This is not a big problem. Some people are jumping on the issue.’ Talking about the morale of the police, he said that ‘one incident does not bring down the morale and the morale of the police is high.’ He noted that a similar incident had happened in India, but the reaction there was not the same as the one seen here.
When contacted by IG Punjab Dr. Usman Anwar regarding the decline in police morale and other concerns of the police personnel, he said in his brief reply, “The JIT has been formed, but I have other questions and concerns.” I do not want to give any opinion on things.’ Despite reconciliation, clarification statements, formation of JIT, many people are still expressing concern over this issue. In which a large number of police officers and jawans are included along with ordinary people. While many police officials also claimed that the Bahawalnagar police were not ready to perform duty in protest.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a police officer said that the Bahawalnagar incident has weakened the police. And even more damage has been done to the police by the IG sir’s video mess. We know that the military likes to show off its power, but that doesn’t mean they don’t respect other institutions of the country. The law is equal for all.’ He further said that ‘in the position I am in, I am feeling embarrassed as to how I can ask my juniors to work with enthusiasm. There is no doubt that there is a sense of anxiety, anger, and uncertainty in the police following this incident, which is being tried to be ignored at the highest level.’
“Everything is good,” said another officer, referring to police morale. Singing the melody of ‘Hum bhai bhai hain’ will not fix everything. Slogans were raised, but the IG should have stood firm for his force; if he had taken such a decision, the entire police force would have stood behind him.’ Speaking about the same, an SHO said, ‘We have been told what our status is. For the past year, the same army and police have been working together after May 9.
When the need for the police was reduced, the army said, ‘Remind us that we can do whatever we want in this country.’ Speaking further, he also claimed that ‘the JIT which has been formed will ultimately turn out to be the guilty police. Who dares to call the army guilty, even if they are our IG.’ Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior officer said that Dr Usman has done a lot for the police force. Therefore, it was not expected from them that they would bend over such a matter.’
“We have seen in the last two years that the morale of the police force had improved, and the main reason for this was that the leadership of the police stood by the force,” he added. The force was shown to fulfill whatever command was given. Even after this, the IG, instead of standing by his force and blaming them, is disappointing for everyone.
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