The capacity of work generated is eight hours daily. If it goes beyond the human energy level, the negative biological impact appears in the body, and ultimately, we start facing physical and mental ailments. This is the hallmark of the Punjab police, specifically the Lahore police, where the police’s lower rank was meant to be a downtrodden segment of society for discharging duties like an animal.
Let me take you around; come up with the UK police, for example. They perform their scheduled eight hours of duty daily, chaining up with the replacement of another shift. The significant difference between Punjab Police and UK Police is their training and recruitment processes. In Punjab Police, officers are recruited through a rigorous selection process that includes a written test, physical fitness test, and medical examination. Once selected, officers undergo several months of training at a police academy, where they receive instruction in law, firearms, self-defense, and other essential skills.
Low-rank police officers are often subjected to poor working conditions, long hours, and low pay. Many police stations lack basic amenities such as clean water, electricity, and functioning toilets, and officers are often forced to bring their own food and bedding to work. The animal-like attitude and laborious and burdened duty hours here in Punjab police resort to the deaths of several police personnel every year. Nobody has yet promulgated enhancing the strength of police personnel to lessen the burden of long duty hours on police. Furthermore, the hierarchical structure also exacerbates the treatment of low-rank police officers. Senior Officers may exert undue influence over lower-ranking officers, and there are often significant disparities in pay and benefits between different ranks.
Overall, the treatment of low-rank police officers in Pakistan is a complex issue, and it requires comprehensive reforms to address issues such as corruption, poor working conditions, and inadequate pay and benefits. These reforms should aim to build a more professional, accountable, and effective police force in a view to make them able more efficient, Without a doubt, the incumbent IGP Punjab (Capt Usman sab) has the potential for reforms and improving police capacity, but we have yet to see any results in this regard. Many a time earlier, I spoke out on this major issue and again requested to make duty shifts possible which will be in the larger interest of the police’s valued lives.
