In Pakistan police and army are often viewed in transcending
their legal and constitutional ambits. The former are found in abuse of power
in ways such as fake encounters, physical violence, politicized approach, and
disregard for individuals’ self-respect, bribery and violation of the rule of
law. Excesses of the latter could best be understood by subverting the state’s
constitution at least for three times, whereas intervention into the political
terrain and space sharing in the realm of foreign policy are their minor acts
of the nature. This time, however, came an interesting show when personnel of
both the institutions informally came down on each other.
As the matter is under investigation and truth about the
incident cannot be ascertained before findings of the inquiry are revealed, but
the common version of the story says that some officers of the motorway police
were chasing vehicles near Attock, which had probably violated the speed limit.
The police when tried to stop them, the men in the vehicles were proved to be
military personnel, who resisted against the police attitude and called for
reinforcement, a fierce duel ensued between personnel of the two institutions.
The military personnel overpowered the police officers, the latter received a
sound thrashing and were taken to the Attock Fort, however, they were later
released.
Report of the incident
went viral on the social media, pro- army and anti- police, and pro-police and
anti-army comments followed the scene on the related posts on the social media.
In addition certain posts came in defense of the act done by the army
personnel, and some came to the support of the police. Interestingly some
people even termed the incident as an attempt to distort image of the army, areflection of the usual Pakistani mindset. Attempts were made on social
media to show police as usual transgressors, and army as hero and savior of the
nation and vice versa.
However, a strange defense came from one of the military
sympathizers who defended the act of the military in an unusual comic way,
which was more a fodder for laughter than a voice to defend the motives of the
writer.
It reminds one of a dialogue of the celebrated Bollywood
movie, Singham, which
manifests both the sacrifices and the plight of the police force. The incident
also shows that plight of the police force is at least common at both sides of
the border.
CLICK TO FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK.
CLICK TO FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK.
READ ALSO
Political issues of Pakistan.
SOCIAL ISSUES.
CRITICAL CURRENT ISSUES